


Setting Fire to a Stone

by KouriArashi



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (oh hey there's a tag for that now!), Alpha Magnus Bane, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Human, Bad Parent Maryse Lightwood, Bigotry & Prejudice, Child Abuse, Class Issues, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Lawyer Magnus, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Omega Alec, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, no dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 11:35:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 43,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7890166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KouriArashi/pseuds/KouriArashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There hasn't been an omega in the Lightwood family for generations, and Alec is intent on making sure that nobody finds out that he's the first. Then he meets Magnus Bane, who turns his world upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Prendiendo Fuego a la Roca - Setting Fire to a Stone](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14989571) by [merrick_ds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrick_ds/pseuds/merrick_ds)



> Sooooo this is the first ABO fic I've ever written. I'm trying to avoid the dubcon aspects of the trope, which squick me a little, but they'll be mentioned even if no actual dubcon takes place in the fic.
> 
> Other warnings include emotional abuse (both Maryse and Alec, and Magnus' history with Camille which will come up later), some mentions of eating disorders (Magnus works in the fashion industry so it comes up a few times), drug use (mainly in the setting of repressing hormones), and some homophobic hate speech (thanks Maryse). Also a warning for Magnus being inhumanely awesome and Alec being super repressed and super thirsty. =D
> 
> Rating is E but that won't come up for a few chapters, for now it's as work safe as ABO fanfic gets, LOL
> 
> Let's go!

 

From the outside, the Lightwood family could not have looked more perfect. Robert and Maryse Lightwood had been married for nearly thirty years. Robert was a state senator. Maryse was a partner at a corporate law firm. They lived on an estate large enough to have a guest house, and they had three beautiful children.

From the outside, the cracks couldn’t be seen.

Alec could remember when he was a child, and his mother had scheduled him so strictly that everything down to a two-minute bathroom break had been written into law. Now he’s an adult, and things haven’t really changed. It’s just that the increments of time have gotten larger. Instead of being planned in hours and minutes, he’s being ordered around in weeks and months and even years. He has his law degree. He works at his mother’s firm. She decides which cases he’ll take, and he spends most of his time doing research and writing briefs for the partners, because he’s not “mature enough” to take his own case.

Beyond that, she’s already decided that he’s going to run for office for the first time when he’s thirty-four and that it will be for the state legislature. After six years of that, he’ll be ready for a national run. He’ll be a senator by the time he’s in his forties.

Alec had noticed at one point, with grim amusement, that she had not slotted in any time for theoretical lost elections. Of course, Maryse didn’t plan to lose. She never did.

That was a problem for Alec, because he wasn't sure he was going to win.

Whether or not he _wanted_ to win was a different question, and one that he had never dwelled on very much. He had even less interest in being a politician than he had in being a corporate lawyer, but Maryse had never been interested in what he wanted. This was her plan for him, and his input was neither required nor requested.

Maryse had done everything to make sure that her oldest son would bring greatness to their family name. He had the best education money could buy. He had done a semester abroad during college to ‘broaden his horizons’. He was physically fit and healthy and had played soccer and basketball in school. He could speak four languages, play the piano at a moderate proficiency, and had the demeanor and presence of a leader.

The one thing Maryse couldn’t account for was biology, and it was Alec’s biology that was going to screw him.

Or, in his case, get him screwed.

Nobody was really sure of how genetics played in to the alpha-beta-omega determination. All Alec knew was that almost everyone in his family was an alpha, but somehow he had been born an omega. His mother was an alpha, and his father was a beta, and he had numerous alphas on both sides of his family tree without an omega to be seen. There was no earthly reason that he would have been born an omega, the lowest social caste, known to be weak-willed and less intelligent, interested only in the pleasures of the flesh rather than any higher intellect or goal.

Alec still vividly remembered the moment he had realized what he was. Betas were by far the most common class, almost ninety percent of the population. He supposed he had probably met some other alphas when he was a child, but didn’t realize at the time. The first alpha he met after puberty, when the hormonal impulses started to kick in, was the friend of one of his father’s business associates. Michael Wayland was a beta, but his son Jace was an alpha, and the moment Alec stepped into a room with him, he knew. Everything in his body suddenly focused on Jace in a way that was almost impossible to ignore. His skin felt hot, his breath came too fast. He couldn’t tear his eyes away.

It had taken effort, but he had managed to excuse himself and escape the room before anyone noticed. Jace was young enough that he hadn’t recognized what Alec’s response had meant, wasn’t fully mature enough for his own hormones to respond in kind. Alec had feigned illness and managed to avoid Jace the rest of the evening.

He had spent the next three months desperately trying to figure out how he could tell his parents. The idea was horrific, but he didn’t have a choice. He knew his mother would immediately write him off as a loss. His life was over, his future gone in the blank of an eye. He had read stories about prestigious families who ‘took care of’ their omega children by sending them to institutions or declaring them mentally unfit. He knew Maryse wouldn’t hesitate to do something like that, if she thought Alec might do something to harm the family’s reputation. And for an omega, ‘existing’ was enough to do that damage.

He had still been working himself up to it when he had read an article about a new drug coming out that suppressed the omega hormones. It wasn’t legal, couldn’t be gotten with a prescription. But it would keep him from acting on his impulses – and more importantly, it would suppress his hormone levels so that they wouldn’t be detectable by an alpha.

It took another month and a lot of money that he had to get from his father in bits and pieces – ten dollars for a movie ticket, twenty for a tank of gas – to get his hands on the drug.

The drugs had gotten better since then, more easily accessible if not less expensive. There were cheaper, knockoff versions on the market now, but he still paid for the top quality version. He had heard rumors that when it came to hormone suppressants, you got what you paid for. And he couldn’t take any risks.

He had successfully hidden his omega identity all the way through college, through a semester abroad, through law school, and now through two years of working for his mother. If he had his way, he would hide it forever.

Someday he would probably get married – his mother had already picked out several good candidates for him but allowed him to ‘stay focused on work for now’ – but odds were good that he would marry a beta. Alphas rarely married each other, because the strong personalities they had led to conflict. He could fake it with a beta, who wouldn’t be able to tell what he was either way. In the meantime, he pretended to be an alpha, acted like an alpha, and certainly nobody had ever questioned it. But the older he got, the more his skin tingled and his hands shook whenever an alpha came near him. He didn’t know if the drugs wore off as he got older, or if it was just because he was a twenty-six year old virgin omega, something that didn’t exist outside himself as far as he knew.

There had been a time, just after he started working at his mother’s firm, that he had considered telling her. He was an adult. She _couldn’t_ say he was unintelligent or weak-willed because he had proven those things incorrect. He had graduated from law school with excellent grades and passed the bar exam with top marks. He still devoted almost all his time to either studying or staying fit. If he could build up a good case history, nobody would be able to say that an omega couldn’t be a successful lawyer.

He had thought about it, but then Izzy had met Meliorn.

Izzy was an alpha, like their mother, and Meliorn was an omega. He was an artist, and they had met at a charity event. They had gone on a few dates and hit it off. Maryse merely rolled her eyes in disapproval at first, but when Izzy announced her intention to move in with Meliorn, Maryse had hit the roof. Meliorn was not a suitable partner for her daughter. Alphas fucked omegas. They didn’t marry them.

The argument had progressed from daily shouting matches to a cold war to a lot of deceit and sneaking around. When Maryse realized that Izzy hadn’t broken up with Meliorn like she had said, she had thrown Izzy out of the house and told her not to come back until she could start acting respectable. She had clearly thought Izzy would be back within a week, that she would realize she wasn’t meant to live in a two-bedroom apartment or work at an actual job. But Izzy didn’t, and as the days went by, it became clear that she wouldn’t.

She still texted Alec sometimes, but he didn’t text back. There was a part of him that hated her for leaving him with their mother, but it was a small part. Izzy had done what she needed to do, for herself. It wasn’t her fault that Alec wasn’t brave enough to do the same thing.

There were days when he wondered if that, in and of itself, was because he was an omega. Would an alpha look Maryse in the eye and tell her to take a long walk off a short pier when she dumped yet another of the partners’ files on his desk? Would an alpha stand up to Maryse when she told him how to dress, what to eat, where to be? Would an alpha still live with his parents at twenty-six, because he just didn’t know what he would do if he didn’t?

He didn’t know, and presumed that he probably never would.

Which meant his only option was making sure nobody ever found out. It was a miserable option, but all his options were miserable. At least living this way made Maryse happy. He supposed that somebody ought to be.

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

“Alec, I need you in my office,” Maryse snapped as she breezed by Alec’s door.

Alec sighed and looked around at the stacks of paper everywhere. He was in the middle of writing two separate briefs for cases the partners were working on, plus research for another four cases. None of it was urgent, or particularly important – if it was, it wouldn’t be on his desk – but it annoyed him that she was dragging him away from it. But he followed her into her office. The door to the conference room was open, and several of the other lawyers and a couple paralegals were there, as well as a man that he didn’t know.

“Valentine, this is my son, Alec,” Maryse said, now smiling broadly. “Alec, Mr. Morgenstern.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, sir,” Alec said, shaking Valentine’s hand. He knew who he was – in addition to the fact that Valentine was well-known in his own right, Alec had done most of the work on his case. From the details of the case, he was pretty sure that Valentine was a dick, but he couldn’t mention that here.

“Maryse has told me all about you,” Valentine said, returning the handshake like they were old frat buddies.

“Alec has done a marvelous job on the prep for your case, although of course I’ll be taking over now that we’re in settlement negotiations,” Maryse said. She gestured for Valentine to proceed into the conference room, then turned back to Alec. The smile was gone from her face. “Charlotte chose today of all days to go home sick with a stomach bug. I need you here to wait for Bane and his lawyers. I want them to see us as a united front.”

“Sure, okay,” Alec said, although he burned at the injustice of being used as a secretary. Not that he didn’t respect secretaries – he thought a lot of them were smarter than the lawyers – but he had better things to do with his time. Maryse didn’t notice his annoyance, hurrying into the conference room after Valentine. Alec sighed and slumped into a chair to await Magnus Bane and his lawyers.

The case was idiotic enough to begin with. Magnus Bane was a former model who had opened his own fashion company. When he was first getting started, he had purchased equipment from Morgenstern’s company. Unfortunately, just after that happened, Morgenstern had gone through a messy divorce and sold off that particular subsidiary for some quick cash. The fact that they had been unable to provide the product wasn’t entirely his fault, but the fact that he had refused to refund Bane his money had been. When negotiations fell through, Bane had sued him, and Morgenstern had hired the Lightwood firm to represent him.

Alec had taken one look at the case, concluded that Magnus Bane was actually being pretty generous in only suing for the money he had paid rather than for millions in lost time and wages, and that Morgenstern should settle immediately. Give Bane back his money, problem solved. Of course, his recommendation had been soundly rejected. Bane was just a little upstart from the slums. There was no way he had the cash or the backbone to seriously pursue a lawsuit against someone like Valentine Morgenstern. Maryse was convinced that if she offered a meager settlement, Bane would pounce on it and go away happy.

Alec wasn’t as convinced. From what he had seen in his research, Magnus Bane was short on neither cash nor backbone. His fashion business was doing well, praised everywhere in the media not only for the clothes and the styles themselves, but for the diversity in body types he catered to. He had used the capital from his first show to open up more businesses, and most recently had purchased a night club right here in New York City. It was making money hand over fist because everyone wanted to go where the models went. Magnus Bane might have started in the gutter, but he sure as hell wasn’t there anymore. And when it came to backbone, well, Alec was pretty sure that people without one of those didn’t flourish in an industry as cutthroat as fashion.

He hadn’t bothered to say any of that, however, because Maryse was generally a ‘when I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you’ sort of person. As much as that annoyed Alec, he _did_ take a perverse pleasure in occasionally watching her shoot herself in the foot because of it.

He was so preoccupied thinking about that he only glanced up when the door swung open, then did a double take and looked up again. He had seen pictures of Magnus Bane in preparation for the case, but he was something else in real life. For one thing, he was taller than Alec had somehow expected. Instead of the extravagant clothes he made and modeled, he was wearing a neat pinstripe business suit, dark blue with a light blue shirt and a magenta tie for a splash of color. His only makeup was some eyeliner, and his only visible jewelry was several rings.

None of which was what really grabbed Alec’s attention. Magnus Bane was an alpha. The scent of him rolled over Alec, drawing him in like the tide, setting every nerve in his body on fire. The urge to just go to his knees and offer himself up was almost impossible to resist. He’d had practice, of course, but something about Magnus tugged at him more strongly than any other alpha he had met.

Magnus had to be used to people staring at him with their jaws ajar, because he didn’t seem bothered. “Good afternoon. Magnus Bane, here for a two o’clock appointment.”

Even his voice was amazing, light and musical. It settled in Alec’s bones and refused to leave, which was probably why his response was just a stammered, “Uh, I, Alec.” He realized a moment later that Magnus hadn’t actually been introducing himself, he had been checking in for his appointment. Magnus didn’t seem to have a problem with his response, though, because he was smiling at Alec and just waiting to see what else he might manage to say. “You, uh, they’re ready for you, I can show you in if you’d like or you can wait out here until your lawyer arrives.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. I’m representing myself.” Magnus took a step back and looked up and down Alec in a way that was extremely disconcerting. “It’s a shame to see such a handsome man in such a drab suit. Well-fitted, of course, but so bland. You really should invest in some pocket squares if you’re going to wear gray.”

“I . . . what?” Alec asked, dazed.

“Here, take mine.” Magnus withdrew the square of magenta from his breast pocket and tucked it into Alec’s. He was so close in that moment that Alec could feel his breath, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Magnus’ mouth. “And one of these.” Magnus took out a business card and slid it into the pocket behind the piece of fabric, then winked. “Call me.”

“Uh - ” Alec snapped his mouth shut before ‘take me to church’ started coming out of it.

“The meeting?” Magnus prompted.

“Right,” Alec strangled out. He turned and nearly tripped over himself in his haste to show Magnus to the conference room. He suspected (dare he say hoped?) that Magnus was checking out his ass, but didn’t dare turn around to find out.

Once he was in the conference room, he managed to calm down, if only out of fear of what his mother would say. Magnus took a seat with aplomb, and Alec thought about how ridiculous it looked, Magnus all by himself on one side of the table versus Maryse and Valentine and their minions on the other. The intimidation tactic was so obvious that it was insulting. He sat down next to his mother, where he would be able to get her any files she needed.

“Where is your lawyer, Mr. Bane?” Maryse asked, once Magnus had introduced himself.

“I am my lawyer,” Magnus told her.

One of the minions snickered. Maryse gave Magnus a look of polite disbelief. “You’re representing yourself?”

“Technically, I’m representing my company,” Magnus replied. He saw the look on her face and added, “Columbia Law, class of 2009. Top five percent, as it happens. Took the bar the same year, passed it on the first try. I can show you my license, if you’d like?”

“Take me to church,” Alec mumbled, and considered fleeing the room.

Maryse cleared her throat and said, “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Excellent.” Magnus leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and folding his hands in front of himself. “Normally I do use an attorney for complicated legal matters, but this being so cut and dry, I figured I would handle it myself.”

“Cut and dry?” Valentine’s voice dripped condescension. “Mr. Bane, I don’t think - ”

“This is a simple breach of contract lawsuit,” Magnus said. “Your company, Mr. Morgenstern, was paid to furnish my company with equipment. Said equipment never arrived. I contacted you to inquire for my money back and was told you had a ‘no refunds’ policy. I explained that the term ‘refund’ only applied when someone was returning a product, which I of course could not do since your company had never given me what I paid for. At which point you stopped taking my calls, thus forcing me to file this lawsuit.”

Maryse, clearly annoyed with the way that Magnus had immediately taken control of the narrative, intervened. “Mr. Bane. My client is prepared to settle this matter for fifty thousand dollars. We can have a check ready for you by the end of the day.”

At this, Magnus leaned back in his chair. “I’ll presume you aren’t actually trying to insult me, but surely you’re aware that’s one tenth of what I’m owed.”

“What you _claim_ you are owed,” Maryse replied.

Alec had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He had seen all the documents, and he knew Magnus was in the right, and Maryse knew it, too. He had paid money and never received product. It didn’t get much simpler than that. Valentine was an idiot to push the matter, and his mother wasn’t any better, enabling him.

Magnus had clearly come to the same conclusions as Alec. “Mrs. Lightwood, I don’t want to waste any of our time. If Mr. Morgenstern refunds the money I paid - the entire five hundred dollar grand sum - plus court fees, I’ll drop the case. Any offer which is a penny less than that amount will be rejected with extreme prejudice. Are you prepared to take this to court and see what a jury will award me? Because I am.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Maryse said. “I’ll discuss this with my client and contact you once we’ve made a decision.”

“As you like.” Magnus stood up and shook her hand, then headed for the door. He glanced over his shoulder, caught Alec staring at his ass, and gave him another wink before ducking out. Alec had to swallow hard while Maryse was talking with Valentine and then shooing everybody out. By the time that had happened, Alec had regained control of himself.

“We should settle,” he said.

“I beg your pardon,” Maryse said, her mouth tightening. “I will not be forced to back down by some queer from the gutter.”

Alec looked away, not wanting to get into an argument he didn’t dare have. He had never worried about Maryse’s opinion on homosexuality, because it took a far second place to her opinion on omegas. He would never be able to have the sort of partner he was interested in. He had come to terms with that, but it still stung to hear her using a slur like that. “You’re not. It’s the facts that aren’t on our side, and you know it.” Seeing that Maryse was still pissed, he said, “Our client is in the wrong. You don’t want to risk punitive damages.”

“Our client’s reasons for not delivering the product are more than adequate to get a jury on our side.”

“Okay, maybe, but our client’s reason for not returning Bane’s money is indefensible, even for you.”

“It’s not up to me to make that decision.”

Alec sighed. “No, but you can advise our client to settle, and you should.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be very interested to hear your opinion.” Maryse waved a hand, dismissing him without another word.

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

Alec had to attend a work dinner at the end of the day, so he didn’t get home until past nine, by which point he was more than ready to get off his feet. He eased out of his jacket and then remembered the pocket square Magnus had given him. He drew it out, along with the business card. ‘Pandemonium’ it said in glittering text, and underneath that there was an address. The phone number was on the back, handwritten. Alec couldn’t help but wonder if Magnus carried cards with his number around to hand out to any cute boy he saw. This thought was met with a surge of jealousy that bordered on rage. He fought it down.

Out of curiosity – and definitely not out of desperation – he pulled out his laptop and looked up the address. Pandemonium was the name of a club, and he recalled now from some of his reading that it was the one Magnus had recently opened. In addition to the usual things that might be found on any club website, there was a section labeled ‘ABO policies’. Alec looked around as if his mother might appear behind him, then clicked on it. The result was nothing scandalous, but a matter-of-fact list of rules that alphas and omegas were expected to follow while on the premises. Alec got the impression that the club was a popular destination for them, and the third rule – ‘all sexual contact must be confined to one of the back rooms we offer’ – certainly gave the impression that it catered to them.

Knowing that Magnus was an alpha, Alec supposed that made sense. He couldn’t help but wonder when Magnus had had time to get a law degree in amongst everything else he did. The file he had put together had been mostly about the Bane corporation, and had very little about Magnus himself.

Now that he had met him, Alec couldn’t contain his curiosity. A quick Google search pulled up a number of relevant articles that he began to peruse.

Magnus Bane was the type of real rags-to-riches story that Charles Dickens would have envied. Maryse hadn’t been precisely wrong when she had said that he was ‘from the gutter’. His father left his mother before he was born, and she fought depression and drug addiction until she killed herself when Magnus was eight. The stepfather who had adopted him several years previous was abusive, and was killed in a traffic accident when Magnus was ten. He went into the system and bounced around for a while. When he was eighteen, he started working as a dancer. There was a picture that had been taken of him during those years, and it was so hot that Alec hoped his computer didn’t catch fire.

When Magnus was in his early twenties, a customer at the club he worked at offered him a modeling contract. He quickly climbed the ranks, learning the tools of the trade, becoming an expert at makeup, lighting, and photography. At twenty-five, he started designing his own clothes, while still working as a model and taking night classes. It all paid off at his first show, where he was praised a visionary in the field of fashion.

As impressive as all of this was – and Alec truly was impressed – he kept scrolling back up to look at the photo. He felt like a pervert, but he couldn’t help it. He wondered if there were more. There were probably more. Modeling photos, if nothing else. Alec hesitated, then went back to Google and did an image search.

He realized immediately that he had made a huge mistake. Neatly tiled images of the most gorgeous man on earth immediately filled his monitor. He forgot to breathe for a minute. Most of them were modeling photographs, in clothes that ranged from staid to scandalous. Some of them were candids, though, and those were usually the ones where Magnus was smiling. He had such a beautiful smile. It made Alec’s heart beat hard in his chest.

A few minutes later, scrolling through the photos like he was in a fog, Alec realized that he was grinding his palm down into his groin, where his erection was pressing against the fabric. He groaned a little. This was bad. He needed to get in control of himself.

‘Call me,’ Magnus had said, and Alec seriously considered it. He had no idea how that conversation would go. He had zero experience with men, with alphas, with _anybody_. He presumed that it was probably impolite to open the conversation with ‘I want to have sex with you, a lot, immediately,’ but he honestly couldn’t think of anything else to say. He didn’t even _know_ Magnus.

He tossed the card across the room and clutched at the pocket square. It smelled like Magnus, had that faint scent of alpha in it. Alec draped it over his face and unzipped his pants. “I’m so fucked up,” he said to the fabric as he jerked himself off.

When he was done, he cleaned up and tucked the pocket square into his sock drawer before falling onto the bed. At least the case was clear cut. It would take Maryse a few days to figure out that she didn’t have any choice, and they would settle. So at least he wouldn’t have to see Magnus again. He threw the card into the trash can and turned out the lights.

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should mention that most of my legal knowledge comes from very suspect sources, so I apologize in advance if any of it's inaccurate. On the upside, it's not super important. ^_^

 

Alec was so busy thinking about how glad he was that he wouldn’t see Magnus Bane again that he practically ended up on the ceiling when the alpha strolled into his office the next day, cool as a cucumber. He was buried in piles of work at that particular moment - his own work, his mother’s work, the work that half of her colleagues had dumped on him - and surrounded by stacks of books. Magnus walked in looking just as sharp as the previous day, in a black suit with a blood red shirt. He was wearing more eye makeup than the day before, but still looked relatively conservative compared to some of the photographs that Alec had seen. “Good morning, Mr. Lightwood,” he said.

“I, th-that is, what - ” Alec forced himself to stop stammering, but couldn’t hold back the question. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to come apologize for my behavior the other day,” Magnus said. “It occurred to me that flirting with the opponent’s counsel was probably, at the least, unprofessional. Although I confess I didn’t realize who you were at first. Not that hitting on the secretary would have been _less_ unprofessional, but probably more socially acceptable. How are you?”

“I’m . . . fine, thanks,” Alec said, trying to keep up.

“You look busy. Is this a bad time?”

“No, uh, I’m always busy. Anyway, I’m not technically your opponent’s counsel. That’s my mother.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. I thought I might invite you out to get a drink sometime.”

That was possibly the most terrible idea that Alec had ever heard, and he immediately pushed all thought of where a drink might lead - hopefully to somewhere that clothes weren’t required - out of his head. He opened his mouth to say no, and to his horror what came out was, “That, uh, that sounds fun. When?”

Magnus smiled. “How about now?”

Alec looked around as if expecting his mother to be lurking behind the curtain. “I can’t really, I mean, it’s the middle of the day, Magnus. Mr. Bane.” His cheeks colored pink. “The firm doesn’t allow drinking during lunch.”

“Oh, you’d rather do lunch? What an excellent idea.” Magnus’ smile only widened. “There’s a great Ethiopian place a few blocks away. And please, Magnus is fine.”

“Oh . . . okay,” Alec managed, and somehow the next thing he knew he was leaving the building and heading out to lunch. It wasn’t as if there was a rule against it. People went out to lunch all the time. He just felt like it was a terrible idea. He was going to say something idiotic and Magnus would never want to speak to him again. Though maybe that would be all for the better.

Once they were at the restaurant and had been showed to a table, he managed to rally. “I can’t discuss the case with you.”

“Please, Alec, the last thing I want to discuss with you is that idiotic lawsuit. Although I must confess I’m glad it gave us the opportunity to meet, other than that it has been a colossal waste of my time.” Magnus smiled as the waiter came over and ordered himself an iced tea. Alec had the same, glad that Magnus wasn’t going to try to persuade him to have a drink.

“So, uh, what do you want to discuss?” Alec asked, since he certainly didn’t have any idea what an acceptable conversational topic would be.

“I confess that I was curious about why you were at the meeting the other day. A lawyer such as yourself - Yale law, top ten in your class, high marks on the bar - surely has better things to do than play second fiddle on a clear-cut breach of contract case.”

“Oh, uh.” Alec’s cheeks colored pink. “You know, working at my mother’s firm, I do work on her cases sometimes.”

“So are you my opponent’s counsel or not?” Magnus asked, amused.

“No,” Alec said, because he couldn’t say ‘if I were, we would have settled by now’. “Just, you know. Did a little research on the case, that’s all. You, uh, you know how parents are.” Seconds after that left his mouth, Alec remembered the research he had done on Magnus’ family. His cheeks turned an even darker pink. “Well, maybe not.” That was even worse. “Oh my God, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean - ”

Magnus was laughing quietly. “Relax, Alec. You’re hardly the only person to ever put your foot in your mouth when it comes to that particular topic.”

Alec rubbed both hands over his face. “I’m not - very good at this.”

“Don’t dwell on it for a second. Do you want to know what I was thinking a few moments ago?”

“I don’t know, do I?”

“I was thinking ‘good job, Magnus, let him know that you looked him up in the NYC law directory, that doesn’t make you look like a stalker at all’.”

Alec laughed, startled. “I didn’t think of it that way.”

“And similarly I assume you’re familiar with my life through your work on the case, and it’s all public record anyway, so no harm, no foul.”

“I did read an article or two.”

“Oh, yes? Which one?” Magnus sat forward eagerly. “The one on Gakwer is probably my favorite. It’s so trashy.”

“The, uh, the one in Rolling Stone. And GQ.” And Gawker, and Buzzfeed, and Entertainment Weekly. Alec decided he had better not mention exactly how many articles on Magnus he had read. There’s stalking, and then there’s _stalking_. He did manage to say, “Though, you know, you should check out Buzzfeed’s article on you. It’s something like ‘19 Times Magnus Bane was a Gift to Humanity’.”

“I’m going to Google that right now - ”

Alec laughed again as Magnus picked up his phone. “That’s probably not something you want to do in public. Some of the photographs are, uh, racy.”

“Hm, so you’ve seen a lot more of me than I have of you.” Magnus gave Alec a glance from underneath his eyelashes and murmured, “We might have to fix that soon.”

Alec cleared his throat and tried desperately not to think about how hot the restaurant suddenly was. “So. Uh. Why did you decide to get a law degree? I mean, it seems a little at odds with the rest of the stuff you were doing.”

Magnus allowed the change of subject with good grace. “It seemed prudent, given the nature of the fashion industry, to have a reliable fallback in case of abysmal failure. I do keep up to date on it, though I’m happy not to be practicing law full time.”

“Boy, do I feel that,” Alec muttered.

Magnus raised an eyebrow at him. “Not your dream job?”

“I guess I don’t really . . .” Alec sighed. “Corporate civil cases aren’t exactly thrilling stuff, you know? Especially on the defense side.”

“I can imagine. Why don’t you pick another specialty?”

Alec shrugged. “It’s all the firm does.”

“Yes,” Magnus said, “but again I could point out that you graduated from Yale Law with excellent grades and top marks on the bar exam. You could get a job at any law firm in the city. Probably the country.”

“That’s . . . not really the sort of thing someone in my family does.”

Magnus looked outright affronted at that, but was saved from having to reply as the waiter came back to take their orders. By the time that was done, he seemed to have realized that Alec wasn’t comfortable with the topic, and instead asked, “Well, if you _could_ practice a particular field of law, what would you choose?”

“Criminal. Prosecutor. My mom says there’s no money in that, though.”

“Yes, your family is clearly hurting for money,” Magnus said dryly.

“That sort of shit is important to my mother. You know, some people say they’ve got a five year plan? My mom has a fifty-year plan for me. She’s going to be dictating my political career from the nursing home.”

“Well, if you want to get into politics, prosecution is hardly a terrible place to start. Many a district attorney has gone on to grander things.”

Alec gave another shrug and tried not to look at Magnus. “It’s a little late now.”

“Hardly! You’re, what, twenty-five, twenty-six? Your entire life is ahead of you! Oprah was fired for being ‘unfit for television’ and didn’t actually become Oprah until years later. You could do anything you wanted to do!”

At this, Alec couldn’t help but smile. “You remind me of my sister sometimes.”

“Oh, you have a sister?” Magnus leaned back and sipped his tea. “Tell me about her.”

“Isabelle. Izzy. She’s a few years younger than me.” Alec’s smile faded. “I actually haven’t talked to her in over a year. She left home a couple years ago - Mom didn’t approve of her boyfriend and tried to get them to break up. I was pissed at her for a while. You know, I know she did the right thing, for her, but it kind of left me holding the bag. I don’t blame her, but I said some shit I shouldn’t have said. She still texts me off and on, but I don’t really see her anymore.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Yeah, it is.” Alec was relieved when the food arrived.

Magnus changed the subject, talking about the restaurant and how much he loved food. “Eating disorders are so prevalent in my industry, they’re practically a standard,” he said. “That’s part of why I make sure to use all sorts of different body shapes and sizes in my clothing lines. Nobody should ever have to starve themselves to be a success.”

They talked about food for a while and about modeling, and Alec even told him a little bit about working at the firm, although he was cautious, not wanting to give away how unhappy he was there. It wasn’t until after the meal - Magnus snagged the check and then Alec slid a ten dollar bill into his pocket - that he said, “Look, uh, Magnus. This was fun, and I, you know, I had a good time, but. It’s just a really bad idea.” He saw Magnus’ face fall and hastily added, “I don’t want to mess up your case, Magnus. I can’t, you know, tell you what I really think about it,” he said, although the roll of his eyes probably made that perfectly clear, “but any involvement between the two of us could jeopardize both your settlement and my career.”

“I suppose you’re probably right,” Magnus said with a sigh. “But I imagine it should settle within the next couple of weeks.”

“Yeah, probably,” Alec agreed. He cleared his throat and managed to say, “Then we’ll go have that drink?”

Magnus smiled, the sort of smile that made stars dance in Alec’s vision. “I would love that.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

Alec spent most of that evening scrolling through a folder he had definitely not made of his favorite pictures of Magnus. He felt less shame at this than he figured he should. Whenever he felt guilty, he remembered that Magnus had gone out of his way to look him up, not just to find out who he was but where he had gone to school and what sort of lawyer he was. Then Magnus had been embarrassed to admit it, which was just so _human_ of him, so _attractive_. Alec was pretty sure he was acting like a teenaged girl and it had nothing to do with Magnus being an alpha.

Not that the thought of Magnus being an alpha had left his mind. All these years, he had gone to whatever lengths necessary to hide who he really was. He didn’t know why ninety minutes in an Ethiopian restaurant with Magnus Bane was enough to have him beyond caring about all that. What did it matter what his coworkers thought about him being an omega when Magnus Bane existed?

He reminded himself firmly that he couldn’t throw away everything he had worked for just for an alpha, even an alpha like Magnus Bane. It would be a catastrophe. What was he going to do when the case settled and Magnus took him out for a drink? He couldn’t go. He couldn’t have any sort of relationship with him. Even with the drugs, sooner or later Magnus would figure out what he was – or he would lose all semblance of self-control and throw himself at Magnus. Either was possible. So a relationship would be impossible. But at the same time, the idea of _not_ going out with Magnus for a drink made his stomach churn. He couldn’t just turn Magnus down. He’d have to be out of his mind.

On impulse, he picked up the phone and pulled up Izzy’s number. She had always given him the best advice, especially when it came to emotional stuff. It wasn’t like he could ask his mother about this sort of thing. The last time Izzy had texted him had been several months ago, and he hadn’t replied. He hesitated, then said, “Screw it,” and hit ‘send’.

She picked up on the second ring. “Alec! Is everything okay? Are Mom and Dad – ”

“Oh my God, everyone’s fine,” Alec said. “I can’t believe that the very fact that I called you made you think someone was dead. I am the worst brother in the world.”

Izzy laughed. “Sorry. I might have overreacted a little. How are you, big brother?”

“I’m fine. You know. The usual. I just, you know, I was thinking about you today, and I wanted to, uh, you know. Call. And apologize.” His voice dropped a little. “For being a jerk.”

“Oh, Alec, don’t apologize!” Izzy said. “I know it wasn’t your fault. You were mad, I can totally get behind that. I mean, I had my reasons for leaving, but you were stuck with mom on the warpath as a result. So what are you up to?”

“Nothing, really. I mean, you know that I’m kind of . . . same old, same old. Always.” Alec cleared his throat and then muttered, “But I might have, kind of, met someone.”

“You _met_ someone?!” Izzy squealed. “You? My big brother? Met someone? Tell me about her. Tell me every last detail.”

“It, um.” Alec cringed a little. “Him. It’s a him.”

“Oh, okay.” Izzy didn’t miss a beat, although she did add, “Bet Mom’s pissed.”

“Mom doesn’t know,” Alec admitted. “I mean, it’s not really a thing. We only had one date and it wasn’t even really a date. I mean, we went to lunch. And agreed that we’d get a drink later, after our mother is, uh, no longer representing his opponent in court.”

Izzy started laughing. “Oh, man. I can’t even count the ways she’s going to be pissed off at you. This is going to be awesome.”

“It’s going to be literally the exact opposite of awesome,” Alec said, but couldn’t help but smile. Izzy’s reaction was exactly what he had expected from her, and to be honest it made him feel better that they could just pick up like nothing had happened. “It’s such a stupid lawsuit, too, but she refuses to believe that a kid from the gutter who got his undergrad degree at a night school could possibly ever best her.”

“Sooooooo, tell me about him,” Izzy said. “What’s his name?”

“Magnus.” Alec tried not to smile. He knew he sounded gone just saying his name.

“And he’s a lawyer?”

“Yeah, uh, sort of. I mean, he’s actually a fashion designer, but apparently he got a law degree, and – ”

“Oh. My. God.” Izzy interrupted him. “Are you dating _Magnus Bane_?”

Alec felt his cheeks flush pink. “We went out to lunch, that’s all! And how did you even figure that out so quickly?”

“Because Magnus Bane is famous, and Magnus is an uncommon name, and literally anyone who ever goes on the internet knows he’s suing Valentine Morgenstern, who is exactly the sort of rich douche that Mom represents? I mean, give me a little credit, for crying out loud.”

“I guess,” Alec said, feeling uncharitable.

“So, you know, what is he like?”

“He’s . . .” Alec searched for a word. What came out was, “Amazing.”

Izzy cackled. “One lunch date and he’s amazing? Okay. This clearly isn’t something we can do over the phone. It’s time for _us_ to have a lunch date. I know your schedule is probably nuts, so just text me tomorrow once you can look at your calendar, give me a date and time and I’ll be there. We need to catch up.”

“Okay.” Alec cleared his throat. “How’s Meliorn?”

“Also amazing,” Izzy teased. “But the reason we need to do lunch is because I don’t have a lot of time to talk right now. We were just getting ready to go out. Meliorn has a show. But call me, big brother! We’ll do lunch and catch up. Okay?”

“Okay.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

All in all, Alec wound up feeling pretty good about things even though he had no idea what to do. He was happy that he was seeing Izzy again, patching up his relationship with her. He had missed her like crazy, even though he hadn’t had the guts to tell her. He would figure out what to do about Magnus at some point later in the future. One date probably couldn’t hurt. One date, a couple drinks – it wouldn’t have to lead to anything. And if it did, well, what his mother didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

Two weeks later, he saw Magnus Bane’s name on the schedule and stopped breathing for several moments. It was a settlement meeting. The case would be closed and he would go out for a drink and he would just have to have some self-control. He had done it for years. It wouldn’t be a problem.

Alec busied himself with stacks of papers so he didn’t have to look at Magnus as he came in. When he snuck a peek, he was relieved to see that Magnus wasn’t looking at him. He was just as gorgeous as the first time, just as smartly dressed, in a textured black suit and a turquoise shirt with a cravat instead of a tie. Alec fixed his gaze back on the desk.

“Mr. Bane,” Maryse said, still pissed off at having to associate with him. “Our client is prepared to settle for five hundred thousand dollars.”

“Excellent,” Magnus said cheerfully, then added, “Plus fees, I presume.”

“Five hundred thousand dollars total,” Maryse said.

Magnus hand dropped to the table, one of his rings rapping it against it. For the first time, he sounded impatient. “You’re not serious.”

“That is the money you are owed, and that is the money he is willing to pay to settle this out of court,” Maryse said. “Also, he admits no fault and would like an NDA signed.”

“Yes, I promise I won’t leave a nasty Yelp review, as much as he might deserve it,” Magnus said, rolling his eyes, “but I do expect to be compensated for the legal fees.”

“What legal fees?” Maryse asked. “You’re acting as your own lawyer.”

“No, I am acting as my _company’s_ lawyer, and in that capacity I get paid, because as I’m sure you’re aware, that will be a work expense and thus tax deductible. Now, I do give my own company a discount, but I’ve spent several hours on this case and I intend to be paid for my work.” Magnus pulled out his phone and tapped at the screen. “Presuming we settle today and I don’t add _more_ hours to the case, it only comes to three-hundred and twenty-five dollars. That includes the filing fee.”

“My client is prepared to pay five hundred thousand dollars,” Maryse said.

“You’re seriously going to bring this to a jury trial?” Magnus asked. “You’re going to risk _millions_ in punitive damages over three-hundred twenty-five dollars?”

“Millions,” Maryse scoffed.

Magnus’ mouth tightened in anger. “Morgenstern’s failure to provide the equipment I needed delayed my production line for months. I missed a show in Paris which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Yes, Mrs. Lightwood, I most certainly did lose millions of dollars. Now, Morgenstern had his reasons – personal issues, I believe? – which caused the initial delay, which is why I courteously sued _only_ to have my money returned, rather than suing for punitive damages in the first place. If you take this to court, not only will I win, but it’s anyone’s guess how much a jury will award me. Also it will increase the legal fees to the thousands, since at that point I would have to get our company’s usual attorney to handle it, as I do not have time on my schedule for an actual court case.”

“Well, I’m sure you would want it handled by the most competent lawyer available,” Maryse said, with the kind of patronizing smile that she usually directed at Alec.

Magnus’ face went cold and still. “Very well. Either there will be a check on my desk tomorrow morning for five hundred thousand, three hundred and twenty-five dollars, or we will take it to a jury. Good day, Mrs. Lightwood.”

Alec couldn’t help but watch Magnus as he left, trying to pretend he wasn’t attracted to him and that he didn’t have goosebumps all over his arms. He waited until the door was shut before turning to his mother and saying, “Uh, are you sure that this is a good idea?”

Maryse shrugged and began to gather up her files. “He’s bluffing.”

Alec blinked. “I, uh . . .” He rubbed a hand over the back of his head and tried to find a tactful way to say something. What ended up coming out was, “That’s not technically possible.”

“Oh, really?” Maryse looked impatient. “Enlighten me.”

“He can’t bluff. Bluffing’s what you do when you don’t have a good hand. But Bane is literally hold all the cards.” Once the words started to escape him, Alec found he couldn’t stop. “You’re allowing your personal prejudices to affect your professional judgment. You think less of him because he’s openly bisexual, because he started off life poor and worked as a stripper to get started in life. But none of those things matter to this case. When you take this to a jury, the _least_ they will do is award him his money back and court costs. Anything on top of that, even if it’s just a hundred bucks compensation for wasting his God damned time, is a loss for us. So _you’re_ the one bluffing. You’re trying to make him think that he’s going to lose in front of a jury when the only thing in your hand is that you think you, personally, are a better person than he is.”

Maryse was staring at her son with her jaw slightly ajar.

Alec realized, to his horror, that he had said all that out loud. “I, uh, I’ll be in my office,” he said, and fled the room before his mother could recover from her shock and murder him.

His nerves were not at all settled when he walked into his office and found Magnus waiting there for him. “Hi?” he said, hoping he could manage a one-syllable word in the same octave it started in.

“Hello, Alexander.” Magnus turned to him with a smile.

“What, uh, w-what are you doing here?” Alec managed.

“Well, since this is apparently going to go to trial,” Magnus said, and rolled his eyes, “I figured it might be some time before we could actually go get a drink together. I decided to come by to make sure you know how much of a tragedy I consider that.”

Alec flushed pink all the way up to the tips of his ears. “I-I, oh, uh, okay? Is that all?”

“Unless you’d care to go for a drink anyway? After all, technically you aren’t my opponent’s counsel.”

“I, um. That’s not a good idea.”

“I know.” Magnus sighed dramatically. “But I figured I would give it a try. In any case, I just wanted to let you know I hadn’t forgotten, and I very much intend to take you out for that drink after this is over, whether it’s weeks or months or God forbid years. You know how court cases can drag out.”

“Yeah.” Alec cleared his throat. “Well. Thanks for letting me know.”

“I’ll be seeing you, Alexander.” Magnus leaned in and brushed a kiss over Alec’s cheek, then turned and left. Alec stood rooted to the spot, the alpha’s touch radiating out from that point and setting his skin on fire. His entire body ached with the need to go after him, to get Magnus’ hands all over him. He couldn’t breathe and his chest hurt; he could feel his heart beating wildly in his throat, in his stomach, in his trembling hands.

It took several long minutes to pull himself together. He sat down at his desk and stared at a case file without reading it. It was going to be a long day.

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	3. Chapter 3

 

A long day turned into a longer night. Alec did all the things he was supposed to do. He worked on cases, went to the gym, ate dinner, tried to read. When reading proved to be completely impossible, he turned on the television instead. He rarely indulged in watching TV, but he couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

At ten, like always, he took a shower and went to bed. But he couldn’t sleep. His entire body was uncomfortable. His joints ached. He felt hot and feverish. His skin was too sensitive, and every time he shifted position, the feeling of the fabric against it felt like sandpaper. There wasn’t even a word for how his body felt, for the discomfort that kept making him move restlessly as if that might help.

He kept thinking back to Magnus, to the way the alpha had touched him and the way it had felt. Even that tiniest bit of contact had felt so amazingly good that he was a little surprised he hadn’t come in his pants. He can’t imagine what actual sex would feel like. Having Magnus’ hands on his bare skin, Magnus’ mouth –

He realized abruptly that he was moaning quietly and his cock was so hard that it ached. He was grinding against the bed as if that might help. He forced himself to roll over, onto his back, and found himself panting for breath. He was suddenly completely certain that if he didn’t have Magnus’ hands on him within the hour, he was going to die. It was a hundred times worse than any hunger or thirst he had ever felt.

Without even thinking or being fully cognizant of what he was doing, he rolled out of bed and started fumbling for clothes. He threw on a button-down shirt and the same pants he had been wearing earlier that day. He groaned as he got them zipped over his erection and had to stop and take several deep breaths. He needed an alpha. He needed Magnus. If he focused on that, he could at least move and stay on his feet.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was midnight. That should be okay. Magnus had mentioned at their first date that he spent most Friday and Saturday nights at the club, that he was usually there until two or three in the morning. Alec didn’t want to call him, didn’t know if he would be able to make himself understood. He had to find him. So he left his room and managed to get into the car.

Even at midnight, there was a line outside the club, but Alec knew how to get around it because of the ABO policies he had read on the website. He was fairly sure that he should be horrified at himself, that he would walk up to a complete stranger and tell them that he was an omega, but it got him inside, and right now that was all that was important.

The club was dark and loud and extremely crowded. Alec forced himself through the throng of bodies, hoping that none of them were alphas. He thought he might tackle the first one he saw. Fortunately, the crowd seemed to be made up of betas, and in his current state, he found them actively repulsive.

At one side of the club, there were some sofas and chairs and tables where people were having drinks. Alec’s gaze was automatically drawn to one sofa in the corner. He stared for several moments without realizing it, every nerve in his body on fire and every muscle tense and ready to snap. It took a long minute for his brain to catch up with his body and realize that he had found Magnus. He looked quite different from how he appeared in the boardroom, far more like the modeling photos that Alec had seen of him. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, unbuttoned all the way to his waist, and black pants. Several necklaces drew the attention to the skin that the shirt left bared. His hair was spiked and tipped with blue, and Alec could see glitter in the makeup around his eyes.

He just stood there for a small eternity, afraid that if he moved, he would come apart completely. When someone jostled him, it broke him out of his reverie and he stumbled over. Magnus’ head snapped around as soon as Alec got within ten feet of him, the alpha clearly becoming aware of the overwrought omega about to be begging for his attention.

“Magnus, I,” was all Alec managed to choke out, when Magnus’ gaze met his.

A smile lit up Magnus’ face, and he got to his feet, brushing off the throng of admirers. “Alexander, what a pleasant surprise,” he said, and just the sound of his voice made Alec want to crumble at his feet. “So you are an omega after all. I thought so, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Please,” Alec said, his voice trembling. He knew he was going to be as embarrassed as all hell the next day, knew he was going to hate himself for this, but he couldn’t hold back any longer. He leaned on the word, hard. “ _Please_.”

Magnus’ face changed from polite pleasantness to something needy, hungry. He put a hand on Alec’s shoulder, guiding him through the crowd. Just the brush of his fingers against Alec’s shirt made him shiver. He couldn’t even imagine what it was going to feel like once there was no fabric in the way. Magnus led him through a curtain and then a small corridor, into a room that was fairly plain but had a serviceable bed and not much else. Alec looked at the bed and felt his knees go weak. His mind fought against what he was doing, fought hard for his last chance to back out. All he could manage was a faint, “Magnus, I’m not . . .” but then he saw the questioning look on Magnus’ face, his eyes, his _mouth_ , and Alec lost track of what he was saying.

Despite the unfinished sentence, Magnus seemed to understand what he was getting at. He took a step back, and something inside Alec was relieved while something else screamed in disappointment. Magnus’ gaze traveled up and down Alec’s body, taking in his shaking hands and his dilated pupils and the way his chest was heaving for breath. “You’ve never done this before.”

“I’m sorry, please don’t – ” Alec fought for clarity, but it was so hard, every inch of him was on fire and every impulse in his body screamed for him to start tearing his clothes off. “I didn’t – this wasn’t supposed to – I don’t know – ”

“Easy, easy,” Magnus murmurs. “All right, Alexander. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you. But I don’t think this is the best place for this. Follow me.”

Alec followed, feeling like a lost puppy. He felt dizzy, disoriented, and Magnus hadn’t even touched him yet. Every time he tried to imagine what was going to happen, the very idea of it felt overwhelming. He thought he might die the minute Magnus’ hands touched his skin, but was almost certain that was going to die if Magnus _didn’t_ start touching him soon.

Magnus ushered him out a back door, where there was a car waiting. Alec wanted to ask why, or how, but couldn’t quite bring himself to care. A few breaths of the cool air outside steadied him a little. Being out of the press of the crowd, away from the morass of scent and hormones, cleared his head. It only helped a little. Without the crowd to distract him, Alec’s senses honed in on Magnus like he was a life preserver and Alec was drowning. He couldn’t stop staring at him, his hands rubbing absently, nervously, at his thighs.

“Steady,” Magnus said, as the car pulled onto the street. “We’re not going far. You’ll be all right.”

Alec nodded and tried to say something but then decided it would be better if he didn’t. There was no coherent thought in his head anyway, nothing but an endless rush of want, of need.

It took about five minutes to reach the swanky apartment building that Magnus called home. He still didn’t touch Alec, letting Alec get out of the car on his own and then gesturing for Alec to follow him. There was a doorman and an elevator. Things were getting blurry again. He couldn’t focus, couldn’t think.

“This way.” Magnus had a hand on his elbow, guiding him along. The bed in this room was several steps above the one at the club. It had an actual canopy, plump pillows, satin sheets. Alec took one look at it and groaned quietly. “Lie down.”

“Shouldn’t I – ” Alec managed, fumbling at the buttons on his shirt and realizing that he was soaked with sweat.

“No. Lie down.”

Alec still wanted to argue but the omega in him was all too happy to obey the alpha’s command. He practically fell onto the bed, barely paying attention to where Magnus was standing at a cabinet, mixing some drink. The sheets felt cool and smooth against his skin, and he tried to focus again but couldn’t. He was so hard that he ached. He felt hollow, empty, desperate.

“Drink this.” Magnus handed him a glass.

Alec knocked it back. It was warm, golden, smooth and sweet with just a bit of a tangy bite to it. His limbs suddenly felt heavy, muscles relaxing. He slumped back against the pillows and mumbled, “Oh wow.”

“That take the edge off?” Magnus asked, and Alec tried to nod but felt dizzy again. Magnus sat down on the edge of the bed next to him and finally, _finally_ , touched him, running one hand through Alec’s hair, rubbing a thumb over his cheekbone. Alec gave a needy little whine and tried to push into his touch. “Lord, Alexander. However did you manage to work yourself into such a state?”

“Nnnkh,” was all Alec managed in reply.

Magnus was frowning down at him. “When I said ‘you’ve never done this before’, really I was referring to ‘semi-anonymous sex in a club’, but you meant never _never_ , didn’t you.”

“Uh huh,” Alec said. The world was going a little glassy. He felt a lot better, though, warm and relaxed, no longer about to try to tackle Magnus or tear his own clothes off. The sharp, stabbing pains were gone, replaced by an almost-pleasant ache that was more like a memory. “Kiss me.”

Magnus gave a quiet laugh which sent sparks shivering down Alec’s spine, even through the pleasant haze of whatever Magnus had dosed him with. “Certainly not. You’re in no fit state to give consent to anything right now. And you’re lucky that it was me you ran into, because a lot of alphas wouldn’t have hesitated to give you exactly what you were asking for. If only because they wouldn’t have known you well enough to realize there was a problem.”

“S’what I wanted,” Alec said. He managed to lift a hand, tried to touch Magnus’ lips, and basically wound up patting at his face. “You’re so pretty.”

“Thank you, Alexander.” Magnus took Alec’s hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Really, though? Not ever?”

“Didn’ wanna be someone’s whore,” Alec mumbled, and saw something in Magnus’ face go dark and angry. “’Cept yours. Tonight. Wanted it so bad. Couldn’t – couldn’t stop myself any longer. Stopped myself for so long.”

“You must be made of iron, to have resisted this long. But we can talk about this more in the morning,” Magnus added, seeing that Alec was having trouble keeping his eyes open. “You’ll feel better once you’ve gotten some rest.”

“One kiss,” Alec said, fighting to stay awake. “Please.”

“Well, since you asked nicely . . .” Magnus leaned down, his lips barely brushing over Alec’s. Alec tried to lean up into it but didn’t have the energy, and by the time Magnus had pulled away, he was asleep.

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

Alec woke up with a start, realizing all at once that he was in a strange place, in a strange bed. Memory flooded back in and he flushed pink even though no one was there to see him. He felt worse than embarrassed; he felt humiliated. He wondered if he could sneak out without having to even see Magnus.

It probably wasn’t a good idea. If nothing else, he owed Magnus a thank you for getting him out of the club before he found an alpha’s dick to throw himself onto. He climbed out of bed and saw a note that Magnus had left for him. For a moment, he hoped that Magnus wasn’t going to be in the apartment, but instead the note said, ‘Good morning, Alexander. I hope you don’t mind my forwardness, but I’ve left some clothes for you to change into. Feel free to use the shower.’

Alec looked suspiciously at the bundle of dark cloth, thinking of Magnus’ fashion lines, but it was just a pair of dark jeans and a sweater that looked about his size. He ducked into the bathroom, thinking about how disgusting he probably was after the state he had been in the previous night.

The shower had more products in it than he could identify, but he managed to find soap, shampoo, and conditioner, and clean himself up. He dried his hair as best he could with a towel and then put on Magnus’ clothes before venturing out into the apartment. It was a beautiful place, wide and spacious with windows along one wall that overlooked the city, but an old-fashioned feel to it and books everywhere.

He could smell coffee, and walked into the kitchen feeling awkward. Then he caught sight of Magnus, or more importantly, caught _scent_ of Magnus, and within moments he was nearly as bad off as he’d been the night before. He clenched his fists and controlled his breathing. He could do this. He had done this for years. Just because Magnus was by far the most attractive alpha he’d ever seen was no reason to lose control.

Magnus clearly knew he was there, because he turned around, sighed a little, and said, “Oh dear. I was afraid this might happen.”

“Afraid what might happen?” Alec squeezed the words out through his rapidly tightening throat.

“That you wouldn’t really be able to have the conversation this morning any more than you were last night.” Magnus handed him a mug of coffee and added, “Sit. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah. No.” Alec closed his eyes, took a steadying breath. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

“I suppose not. The sort of drive you’re feeling overrides everything else.” Magnus took a few steps back, but there wasn’t enough room in the apartment to calm Alec’s response to him. “However have you managed this long?”

“I hadn’t met you,” Alec gritted out.

Magnus arched an eyebrow at him and Alec had to look at the ceiling. “I’m not sure if that was meant to be a compliment or not. I believe I’ll take it as one. But I suppose the better question is _why_ have you managed to go without this long?”

“Because I’m not – ” Alec had to stop and take a breath. He pictured his mother’s disapproving face and sharp tongue. Oddly, it actually helped. “If someone found out I was an omega, I would be ruined. I would be a disgrace to my family. I can’t let anybody know. You – you’re the only person who does, and that was just because – I lost control last night. I don’t even know how it happened.”

Magnus sighed quietly. “It happened for the same reason that a starving person would eat a sandwich someone put down in front of them. You’ve been denying yourself something you biologically need, and your body finally overrode your mind and went to get it.”

“This isn’t something I _need_ ,” Alec snapped.

“But it is,” Magnus said. He hoisted himself up so he was sitting on the counter. “You alpha purists are all alike, you know. You think omegas are weak, lustful, hedonistic creatures – how many of you have actually bothered to learn about what they are, or what their relationship with alphas is supposed to be like? Alexander, I hate to tell you this, but right now your brain is cooking itself in excess hormones. You _need_ the release that sex with an alpha provides to regulate those hormones. It’s not a failing on your part. It’s biology. And really, it’s no different from the sandwich.”

Alec forced himself to take several more deep breaths. His muscles were starting to tighten up again. He couldn’t focus. All he wanted was Magnus. He didn’t care about any of what Magnus was saying, because there were so many better things Magnus’ mouth could be doing. After a moment, he realized Magnus was waiting for a response, but all that came out was a broken little, “Can’t – ”

“No, you can’t.” Magnus shook his head. “As long as you’re in a room with me, you’re not going to be able to even listen to what I’m saying, let alone comprehend and process it. I’m going to call someone to take you home. If you don’t go near any alphas for a day or two – alphas that you aren’t related to, that is – your hormone levels will settle down and it’ll become manageable again. But you can’t sequester yourself from alphas forever. And this is something you need to take care of, Alec, or else the next time you see an alpha, it won’t matter if you’re in a club or the board room – you won’t be able to control yourself.”

Alec wanted to say something. He did. There were probably a dozen pithy responses he could give, but he couldn’t think of any of them.

“I’m putting my number in your phone,” Magnus continued. “When you’re ready to talk, call me. I can probably explain a few things that your parents never wanted you to know. I can help you, Alec, but you – ” Magnus turned to hand him his phone and caught sight of him. Alec couldn’t imagine what he looked like in that moment, raw and hungry and desperate. “Never mind. Just call me, Alexander. Please, for your own sake. Call me.”

After a moment, Alec managed a nod. He took his phone and stumbled out the door. He didn’t even know where he was going, but as soon as he got down to the ground floor, the concierge flagged him down and told him there was a car waiting. Alec managed to give the driver his address and slumped into the seat, shivering.

“Well, you look terrible,” Maryse greeted him in her typical manner. “Where on earth were you all night?”

“Went, uh, went clubbing,” Alec mumbled. “Didn’t mean to be out all night, sorry.”

Maryse heaved an impatient sigh. “I suppose when you must, you must,” she said. For the first time, Alec really thought about that – about the fact that she was willing to look at an alpha fucking an omega as something that simply had to happen from time to time, but somehow the omega was a whore for doing the same thing. “Have you eaten? Go get yourself some breakfast.”

Alec nodded and went into the kitchen. He managed to force a meal down, although his stomach still felt twisted from anxiety. It wasn’t until he was finally in his own room that he managed to relax. The feeling of embarrassment returned, followed by a feeling of panic. What if Magnus told somebody? He had worked so hard to keep it a secret, if Magnus breathed a word of it to anybody – he could deny, but the rumors alone would ruin him.

He forced himself to take a deep breath. Magnus didn’t seem like that. Magnus had helped him. Alec still wasn’t sure why Magnus hadn’t just had sex with him. The way he talked about it, like it was a simple, biological need – there was no reason for him to have held back. But he had. Why?

With a groan, Alec pushed the thoughts aside. He decided to get some work done. Hopefully, several hours of legal texts would dull his brain.

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look at me making stuff up! =D

 

Two nights later, Alec found himself pacing and staring at his phone. The urge to go back to the club, to find Magnus, was practically overwhelming. It was hard to focus on anything else. All these years, he had been able to push it out of his head. He wasn’t sure if it was Magnus that was different, or if he had just finally pushed himself past his limits. Either seemed possible.

He didn’t dare go into the club again. He could be seen. Going there once had been bad enough. Besides, it was a week night now, he didn’t even know if Magnus would be there. But he had Magnus’ number. With shaking hands, he managed to text him, a simple ‘need to see you. Meet at your place?’

He stared and paced and stared some more and thought about jerking off but the very idea of someone touching him who wasn’t Magnus made the anxiety worse. Then his phone buzzed. His heart dropped into his shoes because the first response was just ‘no’. Then, a moment later, he received three more texts. ‘I’m going to call you. Need to get somewhere quiet. Hold tight.’

Alec swore several times and called his phone some very not-nice names. It rang a moment later and he grabbed it as soon as he saw Magnus’ name on the screen. “Magnus, I can’t – ”

Magnus cuts him off, his voice firm and unyielding. “Alec, we can’t see each other until you’re in a place where you can give consent. We’re not going to be able to have a conversation about this in person, and you very much need to have several conversations about it.”

“Why is consent such a big deal for you?” Alec blurted out. “You were the one saying it, it’s just biology, I’m starving, so if, if I’m starving for a fuck then just fuck me already!”

“No, because I’d very much like to not deal with the extremely ugly aftermath of that,” Magnus said, then added more quietly, “I’ve been where you are, and I might tell you about that sometime, but now is not that time. I’m going to talk you through some breathing exercises. All right?”

“Fine,” Alec groaned. He forced himself to listen and obey. Magnus’ voice was calm, soothing, beautiful really. It took about ten minutes, but he managed to calm down. It left him shaky but coherent. “I’m sorry. I think I’ve been a real asshole to you.”

At that, Magnus laughed. “Off and on. But I forgive you. You’ve had a very rough time of it, it seems. Let me see how much I can guess on my own. Your mother is an alpha from a long, proud line of alphas. There hasn’t been an omega in your family for centuries. The last one was probably treated like someone who was mentally ill. Your mother is the lawyer, of course, and your father the politician, and they’re grooming you to follow in their footsteps, and everyone involved is completely convinced that you being an omega would ruin everything they’ve worked for.”

“Yeah, that . . . that’s all pretty accurate,” Alec said.

Magnus was quiet for a minute. “When did you know?”

“When I was sixteen. Met this guy, the son of some guy my dad worked with. He was an alpha, and I just – suddenly wanted him so badly that I couldn’t breathe. I faked a stomach flu to get out of having to be around him. He was the first alpha I met after going through puberty.”

“Mm.” Magnus seemed to roll this around in his head. “You’ve hidden it ten years? Nobody knows, really?”

“Nobody except you,” Alec said.

“Are you using drugs?”

“Yeah. Those hormone suppressants you can get off the black market. I’m lucky that I can afford the good ones. I’ve heard that if you get the cheap shit, it can make things worse.”

“It can. I actually wonder if that’s part of what’s been happening to you recently – if you got a bad batch. That sort of thing isn’t regulated, you know, so it’s impossible to know exactly what you’re getting. But it could just be that you’re finally too old to manage it with the medication anymore. It’s not as if there are long-term studies. Besides, those drugs are meant to regulate the hormone levels so an omega can go a few months without – not a _decade_. I doubt anyone ever even imagined someone would try to do that.”

“Fuck,” Alec said, and then breathed out a sigh. “I just . . . _fuck_.”

“Alec,” Magnus said earnestly, “you’re going to be all right. I know that this is probably terrifying for you, but you can be an omega and still be everything you want to be.”

“No, actually, I really honestly can’t,” Alec said. “Since you know so much about it, you probably know that out of one hundred United States senators, there’s only _one_ who’s an omega. Years, decades have gone by with none. We’ve never had a president who’s an omega. I can’t be a lawyer who’s an omega. I’d get laughed out of the courtroom. Nobody would hire me. They’d all assume that as soon as an alpha walked into the room I’d be face down, ass up. You can talk all you want about how the prejudices aren’t based in reality, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

Magnus sighed. “Alexander. Do you even _want_ to be a lawyer? Every time I’ve seen you at work, you looked like the personification of human hate.”

“I – ” Alec couldn’t bring himself to answer that. He settled for a non-answer. “I don’t know what else I would be. And I can’t disappoint my parents. They, they’ve poured so much time and effort and money into me – ”

“Yes, because you are their child,” Magnus said. “Children aren’t vending machines, Alec. You don’t put in money until the desired future comes out.”

Alec laughed, startled. “What kind of a metaphor is that?”

“An apt one. Has your mother ever once, in your entire life, asked you what _you_ wanted?”

“I – ” Alec forced himself to actually stop and think about that. “I guess not. No.”

“Maybe you should think about it,” Magnus said. “Then you would have a better idea of how much being an omega would actually affect you.”

“I guess. Maybe. But I – I’m pretty sure they would disown me.”

“If they would disown you just for being an omega, then you’re better off without them,” Magnus said. “It’s not as if you chose to be this way. And don’t even start with ‘but I can choose not to act on the impulses’ until you’ve read the book that I’m going to send you. How are you at science?”

“I’m no Stephen Hawking, but I think I know the basics.”

“Good. Time for you to learn some biology and neurochemistry. I think it’s going to be important for you to know why omegas do what they do.”

“Sounds riveting,” Alec said. He hesitated, then added, “But, you know, when I came home the other day – my parents think I’m an alpha, right? They’ve always just assumed I am, because pretty much everyone else in my family is, and I went along with it. My mom asked where I’d been and I kind of avoided the subject, so she assumed I was out fucking some omega. And she’s okay with that. I mean, she kind of takes a ‘boys will be boys’ attitude towards it. I can’t figure out why that’s acceptable, but the omega on the receiving end is in the wrong.”

“Ah, well,” Magnus said, “there’s actually a fascinating history lesson that goes along with that, but I’m afraid I don’t have time right now. My show is going to be starting in a few minutes. Do you have skype?”

“Uh, no. My laptop has a webcam, but I don’t really . . . have friends.”

“You should install it. Then we can talk face to face without actually being in the same room together.” There was a low murmur in the background. “I have to go. How are you feeling, by the way?”

“Better,” Alec said, and realized it was true, that during the conversation he had calmed down considerably. His heart rate was normal, he wasn’t shaking. “A lot better.”

“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks. I mean, just, thanks.”

“You’re quite welcome, Alexander,” Magnus said, and hung up without saying goodbye.

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

The books that Magnus recommended actually were very interesting. Alec wasn’t exactly a world-class chemist, but he did his best to learn about the different hormones that controlled alphas and omegas. He was somehow not surprised to find that they were actually very similar in nature, with only a few slight differences. He realized halfway through the second book that they weren’t really going to answer any of his questions.

Over text, he arranged a skype date with Magnus, only to freak out half an hour ahead of time because he had no idea what the etiquette was. He wound up on the phone with Izzy, demanding, “Am I supposed to dress up to Skype?”

When Izzy was done cackling, she said, “No more than you would for any casual date. Like, whatever you would wear if you were meeting him for coffee.”

“Okay. Great.” Alec thought about that. “What should I wear to meet him for coffee?”

Izzy’s eye roll was practically audible. “Just wear a button down shirt and jeans, okay? You look good casual.”

“He made fun of my suit the first time he met me. Well, not exactly. He said it was too drab and gave me a pocket square.”

“Oh my God, of course he did,” Izzy said, chortling. “At least you aren’t the only one who doesn’t possess a lick of subtlety. I’m serious, though. Button down shirt. Jeans. Black or dark blue - those are your best colors. Don’t wear white. You look terrible in white.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Alec hung up and changed clothes. He was practically climbing the walls by the time the Skype call made him jump out of his skin. He hit the button to accept it with hands that trembled. As soon as Magnus’ face came into view, Alec’s mouth started to water. He was dressed about as casually as Alec expected he ever was, in a maroon shirt embroidered with gold dragons, with gold eyeliner but otherwise minimal makeup. “Hey,” Alec said, in a voice half an octave above normal.

“Hello, Alexander,” Magnus said, with his usual smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay. You know, every time I feel myself getting worked up, I work on this really boring tax evasion case. That takes the edge off.”

Magnus laughed. “I hesitate to ask, but - are you still taking black market drugs?”

“Yeah. I have to, at least for now. There are two other alphas who work at my mom’s firm. Even if I can control myself around them, which I can because they’re women, and, uh, women aren’t really my thing, they’d be able to tell I’m an omega.”

“Well, I suppose that does have some logic to it,” Magnus said with a sigh.

“I, uh, I read the books you recommended. They’re interesting, you know, as much as I was able to comprehend them, but I realized they didn’t really answer the questions I had.” Alec rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Because alphas and omegas are really the same, aren’t they? Alphas have a biological need to have sex with omegas, and omegas have a biological need to have sex with alphas. The hormone mechanism is basically the same even if the hormones themselves are different.”

“That is correct,” Magnus said, waiting to see where Alec was going with this.

“But then why is it socially acceptable for alphas to go out and indulge their impulses, but omegas are looked down upon for doing the same? You, uh, you said there was history there. I guess that’s what I’m really interested in.”

“Ah, yes. It actually comes down to an interesting story about the gullibility of human nature and how people prey on it. First off, I want to tell you a different story, which begins with a question. Does your mother shave her legs?”

Alec blinked. “Uh, yeah. Of course.”

“Okay. Why?”

“Because . . . that’s just what women do.”

“Mm hm. Why?”

Alec’s eyes narrowed. “Get to the point, Magnus.”

Magnus smiled at this. “A hundred years ago, no women bothered to shave their legs, or their armpits. Then one enterprising soul who sold razors came along and saw this vast, untapped market. Why should he sell razors to only half the population? So he took out an advertising campaign to convince women that leg hair was unsightly, that a real woman would never allow it, and any woman with leg hair would never find a husband. That was only a hundred years ago, but it’s already completely subsumed the previous cultural norm.”

“Huh.” Alec thought about that for a minute. “Okay.”

“Here’s the second question. Two male betas have sex. Who gets to be on the bottom?”

“How should I know?” Alec asked, his cheeks flushing. “The, uh, the more submissive personality, right?”

“Wrong!” Magnus was smiling slightly. “That’s what a lot of people think. There’s this very strong cultural idea that whichever man catches during sex is weaker. That, however, is utterly untrue. I myself have been known to enjoy that position . . .”

“Oh Jesus, please stop,” Alec blurted out, feeling his face turn even redder. “I get the idea, do _not_ talk to me about your sexual preferences if you want me to be able to keep having a rational conversation.”

“Apologies,” Magnus said, although he still has a bit of a smirk on his face. “But there is that correlation, and of course the corresponding idea that omegas must therefore, by default, be weaker, more submissive, particularly when they are around alphas.”

“Right, okay.” Alec took a deep breath and forced himself to focus. “But why?”

“Because one asshole in the seventeen hundreds was pissed off at the guy who stole his girlfriend.”

Alec blinked. “What, uh, seriously?”

“I am one hundred percent serious. Two men were having a feud. One was an omega, the other was an alpha. Both relatively successful in their chosen fields and were highly regarded in social circles. When the alpha’s chosen fiancée decided she’d rather marry the omega, the alpha was incensed. He began to slander the omega to all their acquaintances, claiming that he was weak-willed and unintelligent and had no control over his ‘lower impulses’ - we could have a very long discussion over why the idea of having sex makes you a lesser creature, but that’s something for a different day, and the prevailing attitude at the time was that it was something you did not indulge in.

“One thing led to another and the omega was ostracized. A month later, someone who was angry because an omega stole their business idea spread the same story. That added the idea that omegas are deceptive and have no morals, that they’re unable to think for themselves and only profit off the backs of others. Before long, the idea had taken off. Anyone who had been wronged by an omega claimed it was because that person _was_ an omega. There was no defense they could really make against that claim other than protesting that it wasn’t so. And before long, the prejudice against omegas was just as deeply embedded into society as racism or sexism.

“Humans are social creatures, and we are amazingly suggestive. We believe what we’re taught. Even when given evidence to the contrary, we find ways to get around it when our beliefs are challenged. There are dozens, hundreds of examples I could give you. Hell, just look at our latest political cycle - you have people on both sides of every issue ignoring whatever evidence they don’t like, because so few issues are ever black and white. You grew up being told that omegas are lesser creatures and you believed that because you had no reason _not_ to believe, and even after ten years of using your own strength to fight your impulses every damn day of your life, you _still_ somehow believe that you’re weak.”

Alec let out a breath. “Okay, but - ” His voice trembled and he had to stop and gather his thoughts. “But why don’t people _know_ any of this?”

“Because victors write the history books, Alexander. Because the alphas realized how much it benefitted them to be thought to be superior, and continued to spread the rumors like they were fact. Any evidence to the contrary got conveniently buried or ignored.”

“And now there’s nothing we can do about it,” Alec said, closing his eyes.

“Hardly! Nothing stays static over time. Minorities push to gain rights. The cultural perceptions change. Has racism been solved? No. But the more we work on it, the better it gets. You could make a difference, Alec. Not even bringing sex into it, but you’re an omega who’s been highly successful, almost entirely because you’ve gotten all the benefits that an alpha does. Because you hid what you were, you got a first class education and wound up in a job that gives you power. You prove what it’s possible for an omega to achieve.”

Alec let out a breath. “I used to think - think like that. Like I could build up a successful case history, do all these amazing things, and then nobody would care that I’m an omega. Except my mom never lets me do _anything_. All I ever do is grunt work on the cases that more important people get to handle.”

“It can still be done. This is something of a separate issue, though, your mother’s tight rein on you.”

“Is it really, though?” Alec asked. He couldn’t look at the screen. “Isn’t it because I’m an omega that I let her do this to me?”

“Alexander,” Magnus said, sounding surprised, almost hurt. “Do you really believe that?”

“What else am I supposed to believe?”

This time it was Magnus who let out a breath, who fell silent. “Alec. Can I say something that you probably will be very angry with me for saying?”

“With an offer like that, how can I refuse?”

“Actually, let me phrase this somewhat differently. I’m going to ask you some questions, all right?” Magnus waited for Alec to nod. “Would you call your mother’s criticisms of you constant?”

Alec looked away again. “Yeah.”

“Does she criticize you in front of other people, sometimes even strangers?”

“Yeah . . .”

“Does she accuse you of being ‘too sensitive’ if you get upset with it?”

At this, Alec flushed pink again and mumbled, “Yeah.”

“Would you say she actively rejects you if you seek any sort of approval or validation from her?”

“Yes, okay, I get the point. Where are you going with this? My mom’s a bitch, okay? I know that.”

“Your mother isn’t a ‘bitch’, Alec.” Magnus’ voice was harder than usual, angry. “She’s emotionally abusive. She’s been abusing you since the day you were born.”

“She, she doesn’t hurt me - ”

“Really? What would you call her constant belittling of you if not hurtful? What would you call her attempts to control your life if not hurtful?”

Alec said nothing.

Magnus sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I know that it isn’t something that’s easy to hear. But I had an abusive partner once, and trust me, I know the signs, and I know exactly _how_ hard it is to realize that it’s the other person that’s the problem, not you. You’ve been blaming yourself for the way she treats you for your entire life, but it isn’t your fault, Alec. The point I’m making is just - the reason you allow your mother to control you has _nothing_ to do with you being an omega. It’s because she’s created an environment for you where punishment and pain is a constant threat to be avoided at any cost. That isn’t your fault. I swear to you that it isn’t.”

Alec was silent for another long minute before he whispered, “I have to go.”

“Alec, wait - ” Magnus said, but Alec was already closing his laptop.

He sat on the edge of his bed for a long minute, not moving. He wasn’t sure what to think, how to react. His throat was tight and sore and his stomach was twisted in knots. He couldn’t believe that his mother deliberately hurt him, that she wanted anything but the best for him. But at the same time, Magnus wasn’t wrong.

His phone buzzed a minute later, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a series of texts from Magnus. ‘We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. It’s okay that you’re upset. But please let me know that you’re okay, that I don’t need to worry.’

Alec stared down at the messages for a long minute before he finally just texted back ‘I’m okay’. Then, on impulse, he added, ‘Will call you tomorrow’.

Magnus responded with an emoji of a face blowing a kiss, and Alec felt the knot in his throat ease a little.

After a long minute, he dialed Izzy. She picked up the second ring. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, big brother.”

“Would - would you say that - ” Alec can barely force the words out. “That Mom is emotionally abusive?”

“Wha - ” Izzy caught herself before she could say something that Alec would react badly to, then said, softly, “Yeah. Yeah, I would.”

“Oh.”

“You okay?”

“I don’t - I don’t know.” Alec steadied his voice. “Can I come over?”

“Of course! You can come over any time. Mi casa es su casa.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, I just - ”

“We’ll make popcorn and watch a movie. I’ll text you the address.”

“Okay. Thanks, Izzy.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There should really be a tag for 'communication kink'. =D

 

“Let’s talk about sex,” Magnus greeted him on their next skype call, and Alec nearly choked on his own saliva.

“Are you trying to kill me?” he demanded.

“They do call sex the little death,” Magnus said, with a wicked smile. “But no. To be honest, I figured sex would be a better topic than what we were talking about last time.”

Alec couldn’t find it in him to argue with that. “Okay. Let’s talk about sex.”

“Just to confirm - you’ve never had it. Not even with a beta?”

“Never,” Alec said, firmly telling himself not to blush. They were going to have a matter-of-fact discussion about this, like adults.

“Why not?”

“Well, aside from the fact that I have no social skills, haven’t liked ninety percent of the people I’ve ever met, and have a schedule with about fifteen minutes of free time on it per day? I worried that a beta would be able to tell I was an omega. Not, you know, sense it hormonally, but just . . .”

“You were concerned about your lack of enthusiasm giving you away?”

Alec sighed. “Yeah. I mean, I know that both alphas and omegas can have perfectly satisfying relationships with betas, but I’ve heard that the sex usually leaves a lot to be desired.”

“Mm. I have to admit, I actually agree to a certain extent. I’ve had sex with betas and even a few other alphas, but it’s not . . . the same . . . as sex with an omega.”

Alec reminded himself that they were reasonable adults. “So you, uh, you’re pretty experienced?”

Magnus arched his eyebrows, but then smiled. “Very.”

Alec swallowed hard. “If I abruptly leave this conversation it’s because I, uh, have something to take care of. And we’ll never speak of it again. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Magnus seemed amused, but changed the subject. “I’m a big proponent of sex positivity. Far too many people think that anyone who enjoys sex or is willing to talk about it should be made ashamed of themselves, and I don’t agree. Which probably has a lot to do with how much _I’ve_ been shamed for it.”

“Yeah, because uh . . . you were a stripper, right?” Alec flushed pink.

“See, you’re blushing. You’re embarrassed on _my behalf_ because ten years ago, I made money dancing for strangers.” Magnus shrugged. “I’m certainly not embarrassed by it. Why should you be?”

“I guess . . . most people think of it as demeaning.”

“Okay. Why?”

Alec thought about it. “You’re selling your body.”

“So what? An athlete sells their body. A musician sells their body. There are millions of people selling various talents that our bodies have. Some people would say that being a stripper requires less talent, but having done it, I don’t agree. It’s hard work. I’m not ashamed of having a body that people find attractive, or of people paying me for the privilege of watching that body do attractive things. And yet, every interview I’ve ever had about my life, people talk about my career as a stripper like it’s something that I was forced to do, something I would never want to talk about, something I must have hated doing. It really makes people short-circuit when I tell them that being a stripper was far more fun and rewarding than being a model ever was.”

“Was it really?”

“Lord, yes. I hated being a model. The level of scrutiny is incomparable. People are not nearly so picky over their strippers. In modeling, gain as much as a pound and your manager will forbid you from eating. I’m serious. They’ll put a lock on your fridge. And the level of competition is insane. When I was a stripper, my coworkers were friends. When I was a model, my coworkers were enemies. Give me a pole to dance on any day.”

“Why did you keep modeling, then?”

“Because I wanted to be a designer. That was my dream. And there were other things . . . that was when I was with Camille. But I don’t think I quite want to talk about Camille yet.”

“Okay. Uh . . .” Alec fumbled for a conversational topic, and to his horror, blurted out, “Would you still want to have sex with me if I weren’t an omega?”

Magnus quirked an eyebrow at him. “Alexander, I wanted to have sex with you the minute I laid eyes on you, and that was before I even knew your name, let alone anything else. I’d like to add, by the way, that I also want to wrap you in a blanket and watch movies with you, go for long walks on the beach, try different restaurants, and do a variety of other, completely non-sexual, things with you.”

Alec felt the flush rising back into his cheeks. “Why?”

“Who can begin to say why one soul really responds to another?” Magnus said, and shrugged. “I like you. Does it need to be more complicated than that?”

“I . . . I guess it doesn’t, not, uh, really. I, uh. I like you, too.” Alec saw the smile curve on Magnus’ face and nearly lost his shit. “I want to see you. I _need_ to see you, Magnus - ”

“Not yet, Alec,” Magnus said, his voice calm, soothing.

“Do you - I mean, if you don’t want to - I don’t - ”

“Oh, no, that is not it _at all_ ,” Magnus said, with a quiet little laugh. “Trust me, Alec, I very much want to see you, and I very much want to give you the mind-blowing orgasms you deserve, but I don’t think it would be a good idea yet. You’re making a lot of progress and I’m actually quite impressed, but I don’t want to push you too far, too fast.”

Alec tried to nod, tried to concentrate on Magnus’ words, but he was having trouble focusing. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and everything was starting to ache. “Magnus, I can’t breathe.”

“You’re all right, Alexander. Just listen to my voice.” Magnus began to talk him through some of the breathing exercises. It was difficult at first, but after a few minutes, he managed to calm down. He was left exhausted and trembling. “I think that’s probably enough for one day. You should go take a bath, relax, get some sleep. I’ll talk to you in a few days?”

“Okay.” Alec slumped backwards in his chair. “Okay, thanks.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

“How are you going to decide that I’m ready?” Alec demanded at the beginning of their next conversation. “I can’t - I’m used to having a plan. What do I need to say, to feel, before you’ll think I can give consent?”

“Well, I can’t exactly tell you,” Magnus said, “because then you might just say it.”

“Okay, but . . .” Alec grit his teeth in frustration. “I can’t aim for an invisible goal.”

“Then your goal is to accept that having sex with an alpha, for no reason other than that you want to, is okay and doesn’t make you a lesser person.”

“Oh. I . . .” Alec cringed a little, as his stomach immediately twisted into knots. “Yeah, I’m . . . not there yet. But I don’t know how to get there, let alone how to prove it to you once I’m there.”

“We get there by working through it. You’ve been doing a marvelous job, but admittedly we’ve sort of been working on the surrounding issues. So let’s address it directly. Why would you feel like a lesser person if you had sex with an alpha?”

“Because . . . I’m not supposed to.” Alec shook his head. “No, it’s more because I feel like I shouldn’t have to.”

“Okay. But we’ve proven that you do have to, remember?”

“Yeah, I know.” Alec chewed on his lower lip and stared at his hands. He has to eat, has to sleep, and has to have sex with alphas. Phrased like that, it does seem more acceptable. “Maybe it’s that not doing it is the only thing that doesn’t make me like every other omega.”

Magnus nodded a little. “Let me pose a question, Alec. Let’s say that you went out tonight and had sex. What would change tomorrow?”

Alec cringed again, despite himself. “I’d lose all respect for myself?”

“But you at least understand now why that’s not rational. Don’t you?”

“Yeah, I . . .” Alec heaved a sigh. “I guess I understand it, I know it, but I don’t feel it. I’m not sure if that makes sense.”

“Oh, absolutely.” Magnus tapped his fingers against his lips for a minute, which was very distracting. “But you’re not really bothered by _being_ an omega, are you? You’re bothered by the idea that people will _find out_ that you’re an omega.”

Alec frowned. “Well. Maybe.”

“Think about this. If you could know, with one hundred percent certainty, that you could have sex with alphas and nobody in your family or profession would ever find out, would you be okay doing that?”

A shiver went up and down Alec’s spine as his body demonstrated exactly _how_ okay with doing that he would be. His skin felt hot all of a sudden. He had to clear his throat, and his voice still cracked twice. “I, uh, I think I-I could be, uh, be okay with that.”

“Because you know yourself. You know, in your heart, that you aren’t weak or stupid. You know that meeting your biological needs isn’t wrong. It’s the opinion of other people that has you holding back.” Magnus was quiet for a minute. “Your mother’s opinion.”

Alec said nothing.

“Let me ask you this, Alec: what would you actually lose if your mother found out you were an omega?”

“Everything.”

“But _what_?”

Alec let out a breath. “My job. Yes, my job that I don’t like, but still pays me. The place I live. Any, any political career that I might ever have. My relationship with my little brother, who my mother would undoubtedly forbid from ever speaking to me again.”

Magnus nodded and said quietly, “It’s a lot.”

“Yeah.”

“Now answer me this question – why would you lose it?”

“Because I’m an omega.”

“No. If you would lose it because you’re an omega, you wouldn’t have any of it now. You would lose it because of your mother. And you don’t control her, Alec. You are not responsible for how she feels about you. I understand, you know, what it’s like to desperately crave the approval of someone who consistently withholds it. But eventually you have to wrap your mind around the fact that it isn’t your fault. It isn’t _you_. And it certainly isn’t you being an omega, or else your mother would treat you better already.”

“I just don’t _get_ it,” Alec burst out suddenly, surprising even himself. “I have followed every rule. I have given up everything. I’ve done everything that she’s ever asked. But it was never enough. It was never going to _be_ enough, and I just – I can’t – it doesn’t make any sense, and I can’t stop trying to make it make sense.”

“It doesn’t make sense because that’s not the sort of person you are. You don’t go out of your way to find fault in others. I don’t really want to psychoanalyze your mother, and I don’t know why she is the way she is. All I know is that her attitude is not your fault. And as much as you’ve struggled to gain her approval, there’s nothing wrong with putting that desire behind you.”

“I’ve just – I know I’m only twenty-six, like you said, but I’ve spent my whole life trying to be what she wants me to be. I – it’s like – such a waste, if I don’t keep doing it.”

“Mm.” Magnus shook his head. “Are you familiar with the sunk cost fallacy?”

Alec looked away. “Yeah.”

“Then you understand that while what you’re saying makes sense, you still shouldn’t allow it to persuade you. Yes, you have wasted time trying to please your mother. But that doesn’t mean that the logical thing to do is continue to waste time even though you’ve concluded that you’ll never get where you want to be. There’s an old proverb which I think applies here: no matter how far you have gone down the wrong road, turn back.”

“It’s just – making her happy is the only thing I’ve ever wanted.” Alec studied his hands. “I’m not sure I even know how to want anything else.”

“The answers won’t come easily. I wouldn’t expect you to suddenly know everything you want out of life. But a lot of people don’t, you know, without having any particular reason not to. All of us are searching for our purpose in life. But maybe you should spend some time thinking about that, Alec – about what you really want out of life, if your mother’s approval isn’t an option.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Alec shook his head. “Can we, I don’t know, can we just talk about movies or sports or something for a while? This is just making me feel worse.”

“Of course. We can talk about whatever you want,” Magnus said, waited a beat, then added, “as long as it isn’t sports.”

Alec managed a laugh at that. “Movies it is.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

As the weeks went by, Alec started to look forward to his skype dates with Magnus far more than anything else in his life. They talked about the omega issues a lot, but after the first few sessions of thorough conversation, Magnus seemed content to step back and let Alec think things over. So instead they talked about normal things, about Magnus’ designs and his business, about cases Alec had worked on and his father’s obnoxious political friends, about Izzy’s shop and Meliorn’s art.

Sometimes they synced up a movie so they could watch it together even though they weren’t in the same place. Once Alec set up his laptop in the kitchen while his parents were out of the house so Magnus could talk him through making Pad Thai. Alec knew almost nothing about cooking, but his parents had left without much in the house, clearly figuring he would just order himself a pizza. But Magnus talked so much about the foods he loved that Alec had asked him to teach him a recipe. They talked about their families while they ate, about Magnus’ mother and the good times he remembered with her while her illness had been under control.

When Magnus traveled, as he often did on work, he brought his laptop and walked Alec around the streets of Italy or Paris, sight-seeing from a distance. He showed Alec the clothes he was working on and talked about the sort of thing he would dress Alec in. Alec took careful notes and bought himself a new outfit so he could show up to their next date in something that was at least vaguely similar.

“Ah, that is perfect,” Magnus said, eyes raking up and down Alec’s figure on the screen. “You’ll have to wear that next time I see you.”

“Yeah, and when is that going to be?” Alec asked.

“I’m back in town next week,” Magnus said, then rolled his eyes and added, “for the court case.”

“Oh, yeah?” Alec felt his pulse quicken in his throat. “Bet that’s going to be fun.”

“Well, I suspect I’m going to enjoy the outcome very much, but the actual trial will probably be the most boring thing I’ve ever endured.”

“We should get drinks to celebrate afterwards.”

Magnus laughed. “All right. I can teach you how to make some cocktails if you’ll get some ingredients.”

Alec was quiet for a minute, then said, “Magnus, I want to see you. And not just – not because I want to have sex with you, though God, there are still times that’s all I can _think_ about. But the stuff we’re doing, it’s fun to do it over skype, but I want to do it _with_ you. I want to sit on a sofa and watch movies, I want you to help me cook dinner, I want to bring you to Izzy’s shop so you can see it. I want.” His throat closed and he had to swallow. “Yes, I want to have sex with you, _obviously_ , but I’m not even sure if that’s because I’m an omega or just, just because you’re the most, most magical person I’ve ever met and I-I think I’m making an idiot of myself so I’m going to stop talking now.”

“You are definitely _not_ making an idiot of yourself,” Magnus said. “I could listen to you continue in that vein for quite some time, believe me.”

“I bet,” Alec said with a snort.

Magnus considered for a minute, studying Alec’s face, before he said, “You should take some time off work.”

“What, I – I should?”

At this, Magnus smiled. “Oh yes, Alexander. You will not be in a fit state to go to work for three or four days. Once you start getting those hormones out of your system, you won’t be able to do anything else for a little while. I’m happy to oblige, believe me, and I do think we might be able to watch a movie or two together, but . . .”

“I can’t just live at your apartment for three days,” Alec said, despite the fact that it sounded like the definition of Heaven. “My parents will wonder where I am.”

“Then arrange yourself a business trip that you don’t actually need to take,” Magnus suggested.

Alec thought about that, then nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. I, uh. The trial should only take a few days, right?”

“Three at the most. I could do it in one, but undoubtedly your mother is going to drag everything out in an attempt to obfuscate.”

“So . . . Friday?” Alec’s voice trembled a little.

“Friday,” Magnus confirmed. “But there are some things we should think about how to handle ahead of time. Understand that this is not a judgment, merely a request for information: do you want to keep our relationship a secret?”

“I . . . think it would be better,” Alec said. “I mean, at least until I’ve done more thinking about what I want to do with my life. I – I’m willing to risk my job, my career – but I don’t exactly want to if I don’t have to.” He hesitated, then asked, “Is that okay?”

“My feelings aren’t hurt by it, if that’s your real question,” Magnus said, “but you ought to think about how feasible it’s going to be. I’m a public figure and my beauty and style draw paparazzi. Odds are good that eventually, one way or another, the truth will come out.”

Alec let out a breath. “Okay. I’ll think about that. For now can we just – keep it under wraps?”

“For now,” Magnus said. His eyes gleamed. “It does add a little spice to things. Secret meetings, a clandestine affair . . .”

“You’re killing me here, Magnus.”

“I’ll get us a hotel room,” Magnus said, smirking at him. Alec groaned, letting his head drop into his hands. “But on that subject, there’s one more thing I want to address with you before we meet in person. You seem to be the sort of person who might be . . . critical . . . of your performance.”

“Gee, where’d you get that idea,” Alec said dryly.

“Fortunately I doubt you have a _lot_ of unrealistic expectations, because you probably haven’t watched much pornography, but I want you to be prepared for the fact that it’s going to be quick.” Magnus paused, then added, “Very quick.”

“Oh my God,” Alec mumbled into his hands.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always going to be like that, but with your hormone levels being what they are and your inexperience, you’re probably going to finish at least once before I even get your clothes off,” Magnus said, in that matter-of-fact tone that Alec somehow found sexy. “Don’t worry about it. Omegas with high hormone levels have _astonishing_ refractory periods.”

“Well, this is the most embarrassing conversation I’ve ever had,” Alec said.

“Yes, I know, but I’d rather you go into this with your eyes open to that fact, because to be honest I don’t want to have to spend half an hour convincing you I’m not disappointed because you came in your pants as soon as I got my hands on you.”

“Thanks for that. I think.”

Magnus smirked at him. “I’m serious, though. Astonishing. What omegas lack in stamina, they make up for in recovery. And vice versa when it comes to alphas. So don’t worry about disappointing me, because if you don’t have at least three orgasms by the end of the first round, I’m the one who will consider myself the failure.”

“I need to go jerk off now,” Alec said faintly.

“Enjoy yourself, darling,” Magnus said. “I’ll text you the hotel information.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as you might imagine, this chapter is NSFW .... like, the whole chapter .... pretty much every paragraph XD

 

It was probably a good thing that Alec had no reason to actually witness the trial, although there was definitely a part of him that wanted to be there. He was fairly sure that watching his mother get her ass handed to her was going to be hilarious. On the other hand, Magnus himself wouldn’t play a large role. He would have to testify as a witness, but his own lawyer was now handling the proceedings.

Still, he couldn’t help but text Magnus to ask, ‘what are you wearing’ just because Magnus in business suits always killed him. Magnus texted back a selfie to show Alec the three piece suit he was wearing. Alec jerked off to it twice.

Meanwhile, he scraped together an excuse to go out of town for the weekend. He was afraid that if he made it business related, his mother would see through it, so he told them that a friend of his from college was getting married. Maryse told him to bring some work with him.

He got the highlights of the trial from Magnus over skype in the evenings, and asked, “How much do you think you actually lost, anyway?”

“Ten million, easy,” Magnus said. “That show in Paris, damn. I really wanted to be there for that. There are at least two contracts I could have gotten if I’d made it there. I think I made up for it the following year, but it still stings.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want to be greedy, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” Alec said. “I mean, it’s not like you sued him for the full ten million. But, uh, I’m glad that you were successful anyway. Obviously. I’ll be quiet now.”

Magnus laughed. “My amazing rebound does make it a little bit more difficult to prove that Morgenstern’s failures actually hurt me. Which is one of the reasons I never intended to take it before a jury to begin with. But we’ll see what they think.”

What they thought, in the end, was that Magnus should get seven point five million dollars. Maryse ended up in such a fury that Robert made a quiet comment about maybe going _with_ Alec to his college friend’s wedding. He didn’t mean it, but Alec had to admit that he was glad he already had an excuse to get away from her for the weekend. Of course, she tried to tell him that he couldn’t, because they had too much work to do, but Alec told her that he had already RSVPed and it would be rude not to show up. She snapped at him that she expected him back on Sunday night. Alec agreed, mostly because it was easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission, but partly because he was still a little skeptical that he would be able to have sex for three days straight.

He was surprised at how nervous he wasn’t as he got in the taxi that was supposed to take him to the airport and gave him the hotel address. He felt more eager than nervous. He knew that part of that was his hormones spurring him on, driving him forward. But a lot of it was just Magnus. There were still some thoughts lurking about how he shouldn’t do this, how people would disapprove, but he ignored them with surprising ease. Magnus was more important than any of them by far.

Magnus had texted him the room number, so he didn’t have to talk to anyone or go to the desk. He did admit that he glanced around anxiously as he went into the hotel, a little afraid that someone he knew might see him. But nobody called out after him. It would have been nice to go somewhere a little lower-key, but Magnus was a man of exquisite taste, which apparently applied to hotels as well as clothes and cocktails.

He did have to stop and take a deep breath before he knocked on the room’s door. He had a game plan. He was going to show Magnus that he wanted to be here not just as an omega, but for himself, too.

The door swung open. Magnus was standing there in a red silk shirt and black pants that Alec barely even noticed. Any ideas he might have had about taking things slowly or having an actual conversation were completely lost in a flood of hormones that made his skin itch and his hands shake. He lunged forward, grabbing Magnus by the front of the shirt and dragging him in for a kiss. The feeling of Magnus’ mouth against his was like touching a live wire. He kicked the door shut and pinned Magnus against the wall, kissing him like he was dying. Magnus made a little noise against his mouth, his arms coming up around Alec’s waist, carefully not touching his bare skin yet.

Alec kissed him for a small eternity, and when he pulled away, Magnus craned towards him, not wanting to let him go. That made Alec swoop back in. When he finally managed to pull away, they were both out of breath, and Alec had remembered his plan. He dropped to his knees right where he was standing and started to undo Magnus’ pants.

“Oh, that – that’s not what I expected, but – _oh_ ,” Magnus said, his head tilting back and knocking against the wall.

Alec really had no idea what he was doing, but the feeling of Magnus’ dick in his hand made his whole body shudder. He nearly came right then and there, but managed to hold himself together long enough to take Magnus into his mouth. Then it was Magnus who shuddered and gave a quiet moan. Alec grabbed his hips both to steady Magnus and to anchor himself. He didn’t care how unskilled he was or how he was pretty sure the choking noises he was making were unappealing. Magnus was clearly enjoying it, one hand threaded in Alec’s hair, the other pressed against the wall.

After a few minutes, the hand in his hair tugged gently, and Alec reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled off and catch his breath. “You – should stop,” Magnus panted. Alec wasn’t sure what sort of look he gave Magnus, but it was clearly unhappy, because Magnus hastened to add, “Not that it wasn’t _fantastic_ , but, as I said, I won’t have the refractory period you do. I don’t want to come yet. There are some things I need to take care of first.”

Alec groaned softly as Magnus got a hand underneath his chin and pulled him up to his feet and into another kiss. He couldn’t help it, leaning in and grinding his hips against Magnus’. He hadn’t realized it while he had been giving the blowjob, but he was starting to get that whole body ache from denying himself too long. He couldn’t think and his vision was blurring.

“This way,” Magnus said, his mouth catching at Alec’s earlobe in a way that made everything inside him quiver. “Take off your shirt.”

Alec wasted no time stripping off the offending garment as he followed Magnus into the other room, then sprawled out on the bed on his back. He was already reaching for Magnus as the alpha got down on the bed with him, his hands and knees on either side of Alec, and leaned up for a kiss. Magnus was happy to oblige. He cupped Alec’s face in his hands, then slowly ran them downward, down Alec’s throat, over his collarbones and down his chest. Everywhere his hands went, little curls of fire seemed to catch in Alec’s skin, setting his whole body alight. He threw his head back and gasped for air. Magnus was right. It was too much. His whole body was shaking, hands gripping down into the sheets, and he came before he even knew what was happening.

For a long minute afterward, all he could do was try to breathe. Finally, he mumbled, “Yeah, you were right to warn me I would do that.”

Magnus chuckled quietly. “Believe me, Alexander, we are just getting started.”

“Mmkay.” Alec twined his hand in Magnus’ hair and drew him down for a kiss. Magnus kept the kisses light, teasing, which made Alec grumble at him. Magnus laughed and leaned back a bit, unbuttoning his shirt. Alec just watched him, staring, as he shrugged it off his shoulders and tossed it aside. “I could seriously watch you take your clothes off all day.”

“I’d have to wear a lot of layers for that to work,” Magnus said, and Alec snorted. He leaned back down and kissed Alec for real this time. Alec wasted no time in getting his hands all over Magnus’ bare skin, tracing his fingers down Magnus’ back and over his unfortunately-still-clothed ass. It felt like his fingertips were on fire, like sparks were going up his arms every time they met Magnus’ skin. And Magnus hadn’t been wrong; he was already getting hard again, squirming in an attempt to get friction.

“Take it easy,” Magnus said, then encouraged the complete opposite by rubbing his thumb over one of Alec’s nipples.

“Oh my God,” Alec declared to the ceiling, trying not to whimper.

“You like that?” Magnus asked, and Alec got a glimpse of his beautiful smile before he leaned down to latch his mouth on the same spot. Everything in Alec’s vision went white and blank, and his body started shaking.

“S-Stop, I’m gonna come again,” he managed.

Magnus drew back. “I’ll stop if you want, but it’s all right if you do.”

“Not – ” Alec tried to catch his breath. “Not until you get my pants off.”

“Well, I certainly can’t object to that, but I think you’d better undo the button and zipper yourself, because if I do . . .”

“Right.” Even through two layers of fabric, Alec was sure that Magnus’ hands would have him coming. He managed to get them undone, and squirm enough to drag them down a few inches. Magnus did the rest, hooking his fingers in the fabric so he wouldn’t touch Alec very much and then shoving them off the edge of the bed. He sat back just a little, his gaze moving up and down Alec’s body, clearly admiring the view. Alec forgot how to breathe. His chest was starting to ache again. “O-Okay, this is – is kind of – weird for me – ”

“Hey.” Magnus leaned down, brushing his lips over Alec’s. “Look at me,” he said, and Alec managed to meet his gaze, still feeling awkward and uncomfortable. “Now come for me,” Magnus said against his lips, and took Alec’s cock in his hand. Alec’s mind immediately blanked out, the waves of pleasure overcoming any sense of doubt or shame. His back arched and he writhed against the sheets, coming so hard that he thought he blacked out a little.

He resurfaced a few minutes later with Magnus gently running fingers through his hair and planting soft, tender kisses on his forehead and cheeks. “You’re doing so well, you’re so beautiful,” Magnus murmured to him. “And don’t think that I’m not enjoying this, because trust me, this might be the best time I’ve ever had.”

“Fffmgl,” Alec replied, wondering what words were.

“Need a minute?”

“Mm hm.”

“Okay.” Magnus continued to stroke his hair. Alec lay there quietly, enjoying it. His whole body was a little tingly, but nothing hurt anymore, and he felt amazing.

Gradually, Magnus’ fingers started to leave trails of fire behind them again. He seemed to be able to tell, to sense the change in Alec and know that he was starting to rev back up. He started tracing his fingers down Alec’s throat, over his chest, then down onto his hips and thighs. Alec managed to open his eyes and watch him.

“Enjoying yourself?” Magnus asked.

Alec wanted to say something snarky, but all he could manage was, “Y-Yeah.”

“Good.” Magnus took his already-hardening cock in one hand. “How about now?”

“Ffffff, Magnus,” Alec had to close his eyes again, because Magnus’ smirk was killing him. Because of that, he wasn’t expecting it when he felt Magnus’ finger slide inside him, and he let out a high-pitched noise that he definitely wasn’t going to admit to later.

Magnus stopped moving. “All right?”

“Yeah, just, wasn’t.” Alec licked his lips, trying to catch his breath. “Took me off guard is all. Feels good. Keep going.”

Magnus nodded and added a second finger, which made Alec arch his back again, spreading his legs unconsciously to give Magnus more room. He heard Magnus’ sharp intake of breath when he did that and felt a momentary swell of pride at this proof that he was, indeed, having some effect on the alpha.

“Excuse me a moment,” Magnus said, withdrawing, and Alec _did_ whimper, damn it. He opened his eyes to see Magnus on his feet and almost hastily shucking his pants off. Then he turned and saw Alec watching and slowed his movements as he slid his underwear down and off. “Like what you see?”

“Oh my God, get your ass down here,” Alec said, and grabbed said ass the moment it was within reach.

Magnus leaned down and nipped at his ear. “You’re going to come again as soon as I’m inside you,” he said. “Every omega does their first time. Don’t try to stop yourself.”

 “Kay,” Alec said, letting Magnus move him around, push his legs even further apart and tilt his hips up. He watched this with a vague, clinical interest, and then – _then_ –

If Magnus’ kiss was like a live wire, this was like being hit by lightning. Every nerve in his body overheated instantly, the sensations exploding out from his stomach and into all his limbs. He couldn’t even shout, because his entire body seemed to have locked down, his back arching and the cords in his neck straining and everything, _everything_ , caught up in that storm.

When he slumped back to the bed, his entire body was shaking. “Easy, easy,” Magnus crooned, smoothing his hair back again. Alec was dimly aware that Magnus was thumbing a few tears off his cheeks, and he would have been ashamed if he’d had a molecule to spare for it. Mostly all he could do was breathe. Finally, he managed to lift one arm and curl his hand around the back of Magnus’ neck, drawing him in for a kiss.

“Thank you,” he mumbled against Magnus’ mouth. “Thank you.”

“We’re not done quite yet,” Magnus said, though he returned the kiss with interest. “Are you ready for the big one?”

Thinking of what the last one had felt like, Alec shivered. “I’m not sure I am.”

“Okay. Just relax.” Magnus kissed him again, his fingers trailing down Alec’s throat, using his other arm to brace himself over Alec. Alec twined his fingers through Magnus’ hair and then ran his hands down Magnus’ back and over his ass.

When Magnus trembled a little, Alec drew back in surprise. “Are _you_ okay?”

“I’m – very – close,” Magnus said, letting out each word carefully. “So I’m trying not to move until you’re ready.”

“Oh.” Alec thought of _that_ , thought of Magnus so tense and so desperate to finally be able to come, but holding off for his sake. He suspected that telling Magnus to just go ahead wouldn’t get him anywhere, because Magnus was clearly intent on doing this last part together. “Okay. Just a sec.” Magnus only had one hand free, so he would have to do part of this himself. On impulse, he lifted one hand and pressed two fingers against Magnus’ mouth. Magnus got the idea immediately, parting his lips so Alec’s fingers could slide in, curling his tongue around them in a way that had Alec letting out a little groan. “That, that’s good, let me just,” Alec said, and then started jerking himself off, a little more roughly than he intended. It only took a minute before he was hard and aching again, and out of breath. “Can’t – I can’t believe – I’m actually gonna come – four times.”

“I did tell you.” Magnus pulled back a little and trembled again. He reached out with his free hand and twined his fingers through Alec’s, surprising him. He withdrew and then slowly thrust again. Alec gasped for air and squeezed Magnus’ hand so hard that it hurt. That seemed to convince Magnus that he was ready, and without warning, the alpha started picking up the pace. Alec grabbed a handful of the sheets in his other hand and let the waves of pleasure roll over him, not trying to hold back at all.

The first orgasms had been good, amazing, but Magnus was right in that this one would be better, because it had time to build. It was mind-blowing to begin with and it only got better. Each thrust drove Alec a little higher, a little deeper into the sort of pleasure he had never suspected could exist. “Oh my God, oh my God,” he panted, not even aware of what he was saying. Every muscle in his body went tense again as he spun into orbit, the world breaking up into a thousand bright little pieces, each one more beautiful than the last. The one part of him still left on earth heard Magnus gasp out his name, and felt Magnus’ hand squeeze his, felt Magnus coming inside him, and with that, everything whited out completely.

His body recovered before his mind, and he resurfaced to find his hand was rubbing up and down Magnus’ spine while the alpha made content noises. When his eyes opened, Magnus smiled and said, “Welcome back.”

“Mm,” Alec said. Magnus was laying on top of him, his cheek resting on Alec’s shoulder and fingers still entwined. He shifted a little and realized Magnus was still inside him. It felt good, not earth-shatteringly good like earlier, but still good. “You comfy?”

“Very,” Magnus said, still smiling broadly. “And it’s good for both of us. Hormonally. But also emotionally.”

“Mm,” Alec said again, and let his eyes close. He had to admit that he would be quite happy if Magnus never moved, if they stayed in this moment forever, as long as Magnus was as comfortable as he was. “You were right. Gonna need a few days.”

Magnus laughed quietly. “You won’t believe me, but by morning you’ll be ready for another go.”

“You’re right. I don’t believe you. I don’t think I’ll ever move again.”

“We’ll see. Though I might point out that I’ve been right about everything else.”

“True.” Alec managed to open his eyes again. He reached over and traced Magnus’ cheekbone. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Thank you, Alexander.” Magnus sounded like he was going to start purring. “I find you quite attractive myself. How do you feel?”

“Good,” Alec said. “Just. Really, really good. Incredible. Fantastic. I’d have to get a thesaurus to describe all the different kinds of good that I’m feeling.”

“That’s probably not necessary,” Magnus said, but his smile only brightened. “I’m glad. You deserved this.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss against Alec’s mouth. “You deserve to feel good.”

“Yeah, I’m . . . really not up to any sort of argument right now, but even if I was, I don’t think I could argue with that. Because. Wow. Like seriously, wow.”

“Good. Then my work here is done.” Magnus gave him another kiss. “Now, we need to get cleaned up, because we _will_ regret it in the morning if we don’t, and then I’m going to get some sleep, and I suspect you need some, too.”

“Does cleaning up mean I have to move?”

“I’ll do the heavy lifting,” Magnus said with a quiet laugh.

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still in NSFW territory here ^_^

 

After everything Magnus had said, Alec expected to be super horny when he woke up, but instead he was starving. He woke up to his stomach growling and managed to pry his eyelids open. Magnus was still asleep next to him, and Alec took a moment to really drink that in, to look at the lines of Magnus’ body underneath the sheets and the peaceful look on his face, at his mussed up hair and make-up free closed eyes. He didn’t dare take a photo on his phone, lest his mother stumble across it, so he wanted to etch the picture in his mind.

But before more than a minute had passed, his stomach growled again and he was sure that if he didn’t eat soon, he would be sick. He got out of bed and found a bathrobe that came with the room, then grabbed the room service menu because he certainly wasn’t going anywhere. He had heard Magnus talk about food enough that ordering for him was actually fairly easy. He got them both an omelet, some fresh fruit, and French toast.

It would come with coffee, but the room had its own coffee maker as well, so he started that. A few minutes later, he had a fresh mug and poured some cream and sugar in to settle his empty stomach. The smell had Magnus stirring, so Alec poured him a mug and then crawled back into bed with him.

“Now this is how I like to wake up,” Magnus murmured, as Alec set the mug down on the bedside table and then started pressing kisses into Magnus’ temple and forehead. That turned out to be a terrible mistake, because _that_ got his hormones going again. He leaned in for a real kiss and pulled Magnus on top of him, grabbing the alpha’s ass.

When the kiss finally broke apart and Magnus leaned in to lavish attention on his throat, he suddenly remembered the food. “Oh, crap,” he said faintly. “I ordered room service. It’s – nn! – going to be here soon.”

“Well, I think we can probably survive making this relatively quick,” Magnus said with a smirk, shoving the sheets aside and crawling down Alec’s body.

“Okay, yeah, we can – oh my God – ” Alec twined a hand in Magnus’ hair as the alpha went down on him.

It wasn’t quite so quick as to be enormously embarrassing, but he certainly finished well before the room service arrived. He ate in record time and then insisted on returning the favor, letting Magnus teach him a little bit about technique and not choking himself, enjoying the noises Magnus made and the way his body arched into his touch.

Alec fell back to sleep for a little while after that, and when he woke up he was ready for another round. Fortunately, so was Magnus, and the alpha fucked him deep and slow until Alec was trembling, his hands twined in Magnus’ hair as he kissed Magnus over and over again. He just couldn’t get over how amazing he felt.

They found a movie on TV and managed to move themselves to the sofa, although Alec still didn’t want to let Magnus go for more than a few minutes at a time. He just couldn’t get enough of the feeling of Magnus’ skin against his, the warmth that spread through his body from every point of contact.

One movie led to another, and then they ordered Chinese food, which they ate on the sofa before relocating to the bedroom to have sex again, this time with Alec on his stomach, blissed out and moaning into the pillows.

“This is ridiculous,” he muttered afterwards.

Magnus laughed and stretched like an overgrown cat. “As long as you’re enjoying yourself, I think being ridiculous is just fine.”

“Mm.” Alec yawned. “What about you? Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, believe me, Alec, there is nowhere I’d rather be,” Magnus said, and kissed him again.

Alec was quiet for a minute before he confessed, “I don’t know what happens now.”

Magnus stretched out on his stomach and propped up his chin with his hands. “I assume you mean that non-sexually?” he said, and Alec nodded. “Well, we do still have a couple days to indulge. After that, it’s largely going to be up to you. I can make time in my schedule.”

“Do you even sleep?” Alec asked. “I mean, obviously you do, because I just saw you sleep, but seriously, how the hell did you get through law school while modeling, learning all the other modeling trades, _and_ trying to start your own fashion company?”

“Oh, I had most of the modeling down pat by the time I started law school, so in terms of modeling I was only working a few hours a day at that point. I did most of my designing at night. But you are right; I’ve never needed as much sleep as a lot of the people I’ve known. I generally get by with four hours a night and then a cat nap at some point during the day.”

“That is insane,” Alec said. “I can’t really do the same thing, but I do usually have a few free hours in the evening. Which I guess you know, from the skypeing. But . . .” He felt the butterflies in his stomach start to swarm. “I was serious, you know, about not wanting this to be just about sex.”

“I know. I want the same. Although, for a little while I do think you’re going to need to get it out of your system before you can focus on anything else.”

“Are you sure, though?” Alec sat up, chewing on his lower lip. “I mean. Not to be crude, but. Alphas fuck omegas. They don’t date them.”

“Alexander.” Magnus looked outright affronted. “I will date anyone I’d like to date, regardless of their ABO status.” He took hold of Alec’s elbow and drew him back down onto the bed. “If there is still any part of you that thinks I’m only here because you’re an omega, I’d like to cordially invite that part of you to take a long walk off a short pier.”

Alec smiled despite himself, reached over and caressed the side of Magnus’ face. “Thanks. I’m not sure what I did to deserve you.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with deserving. _That_ is something I learned the hard way, trust me.”

“Yeah?”

“Mm. Want some tea? I’m going to order some.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Fifteen minutes later, they’re sitting down with tea and some pastries that Magnus had ordered. Magnus was quiet as he sipped his tea, before he finally said, “Sometimes I think you don’t fully understand, or maybe you don’t want to understand, the depths of the effect your mother’s treatment has had on you. When I was with Camille, I spent virtually every minute thinking that I wasn’t good enough. And she was just . . . a woman that I loved. I’m not saying that’s not a powerful thing, but an abusive partner is so different from an abusive parent. A parent shapes your whole world. They’re there from the first moments of your life, they’re supposed to be the foundation of your world, the person who loves you unconditionally. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have that person constantly telling you that you aren’t worth that love.”

“It’s like . . . standing on quicksand.” The words came out before Alec could think about them. “Always worrying that your next step will leave you drowning.”

“Oh, I remember that feeling so well.” Magnus slouched in his seat, resting his feet on the table. “I met Camille through modeling. She was my agent for a while. I was under constant scrutiny. Everything I ate, everything I wore, every word I said. Any time I talked about wanting to go into design, she told me I wasn’t cut out for it, that I would only fail and feel worse afterwards. I told myself it was because she wanted what was best for me. But even when I did as I was told, it was still somehow always the wrong thing. I became desperate to please her. And the more I tried, the more belittling she became. When we started having sex, she insisted we be exclusive, which was fine with me, but then she would withhold sex if she was mad at me. Of course, being an alpha, that was a problem for me. Remember how I told you I knew what it was like to be in your position? That was because of Camille. Because she would withhold sex until the hormones made me so desperate for her that I would have done anything. And whenever I gave in, I spent the next few days hating myself for my perceived weakness. In retrospect, Camille did me a favor. It was because of her that I began learning about all of this, which has helped me help you. Not that this excuses her actions, of course, but the world does work in interesting ways.”

Alec thought about this, leaning in to press a kiss into Magnus’ neck. “So what happened?”

“About six months after we got together, one of my stripper friends came to me, distraught and in need of cash because she had just left her abusive boyfriend. Camille was annoyed and flounced out. I sat with my friend and she talked about how her boyfriend treated her, and I realized suddenly that with the one exception that her boyfriend had hit her, she could have been describing Camille. The criticism, the withholding, the controlling . . . it was all the same. And she said something that really resonated with me that night, how she loved her boyfriend, but she also loved herself, and that had to take precedence.

“I didn’t have anywhere near enough stones to actually break up with Camille, but the next time she started criticizing my appearance, I told her that she was hurting my feelings and asked her to stop. She, of course, pulled the ‘you’re being oversensitive’ card, and I told her that be that as it may, they were still my feelings and I would be happier if she could respect them as such. Whereupon she called me all manner of truly offensive things and then dumped me.”

“Better that way, maybe,” Alec said.

“Well, although I’m happy I didn’t have to work myself up to breaking it off with her, she also all but destroyed my modeling career. Pulled me out of a bunch of shows on short notice, leaving people scrambling for replacements, spread rumors that I had stolen money or sexually harassed other models. I got blacklisted.” Magnus shook his head a little. “That was when I went into law school, actually. It looked like she had thoroughly prevented me from following my dreams to go into design.”

“But obviously she didn’t.”

“I was working as a stripper again, while putting myself through law school, when Camille got herself in some heaps of trouble. She tried pulling the same stunts she pulled with me with another model, and he wasn’t having it. She actually got arrested for spiking his drinks to make him throw up, because she thought he needed to lose weight. Her sentence was fairly light, but it got her thrown out of the modeling world, at which point I was able to get un-blacklisted because people were now willing to believe me about what she had done to me.”

“I’m curious about something,” Alec said. “You said you preferred stripping to modeling anyway. So why go back?”

“Because it was always about going into design,” Magnus said. “I could make a decent living as a stripper, but I only had the networking opportunities as a model. And incidentally, that was how I got my big break, the year after I graduated law school. One of the designers I was modeling for saw my book of designs and liked one enough that he offered to put it into his production line. Et cetera, et cetera, the rest is history.”

Alec nodded a little and thought about it for a minute before nestling closer. “Thanks for telling me all that.”

Magnus reached out and rubbed his thumb over Alec’s cheek. “For so long after Camille, I closed myself off to feeling anything for anyone, man or woman. You’ve unlocked something in me. And I’m so grateful to you for that.”

Alec leaned in for a kiss, which Magnus returned. “I think I’m the one who should be grateful.”

“Well, there’s no monopoly on gratitude. We can share.” Magnus kissed him again. “Being the victim of abuse isn’t your fault, Alec, any more than it was mine. I truly believe it can happen to anybody.”

“Okay, but . . . I don’t know what to do. I mean, I know that I don’t want to give this up. Any part of it. I know . . . in my mind, at least . . . that it doesn’t make me weak or a lesser person. But I don’t know if I can just give up everything for it. I don’t know _how_ to do that.”

“You don’t need to make every decision all at once. Think about things that would make you happy, about things that would improve your life. Back at the beginning, you were talking about how your mother never lets you handle your own cases. That might be a good place to start. Because you weren’t wrong, you know. Your plan was actually very good – win cases, prove to the world that you’re a good lawyer, then pull out the omega card. That would help not only you, but dozens, hundreds of omegas everywhere who are struggling to have careers in a world where they aren’t given equal footing.”

Alec nodded slowly. “I . . . I think I could do that. The bit about cases, I mean. I can at least ask my mother about it. See what she says. But this . . . you really don’t mind keeping it secret?”

“Would it be my preference? No. But I understand that it isn’t easy for you, and I understand why. So I’m happy to be your dirty little secret, at least for now. Though, you know, you ought to consider that you can reveal you’re dating me without revealing you’re an omega. Alphas have dated and married each other in the past. It’s uncommon but it happens.”

“To be honest, I don’t think my mother will be any less horrified about me dating you than she would be if she found out I’m an omega,” Alec said dryly, then considered. “Well. Maybe a _little_ less horrified. But not much.”

Magnus snorted. “You know, I’m going to take that as a compliment, I think.”

“You should. The sort of people my mother wants to set me up with are the worst.”

“In any case, the point stands. We can keep this a secret, but just keep in mind that should we be found out, it doesn’t necessarily compromise your omega identity.” Magnus leaned in for another kiss. “We’ll take things as they come. For now, what I think you need more than anything else is a chance to learn what makes you happy. Besides sex with me.”

Alec groaned a little as Magnus began to kiss down his throat. “Speaking of which . . .”

“Getting antsy again?” Magnus smirked. “Excellent. I was just thinking that I needed a shower.”

Alec frowned. “Before or after?”

“Oh, you sweet summer child,” Magnus said. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

Sunday afternoon, at about the time his plane was supposed to be leaving, Alec called his mother. “I’m going to stay in Colorado an extra day,” he told her. “Some of the guys want to go white-water rafting and they asked me to join them.”

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood!” Maryse sounded appalled. “We have work to do!”

“Come on, Mom, you know that none of the stuff I’m doing can’t wait a day. These are influential people. Senator Broward’s son is here, and Mike Pallas, you know, of Pallas Electronics? I can get more done in a day hanging out with them on a river than I can in an office writing briefs that Hendrickson is too lazy to write himself.”

“Well. I suppose you do have a point.” Maryse still sounded disgruntled. “When should I expect you?”

“I’ll take a red-eye home Monday night and be at work Tuesday morning. Just bring one of my suits to the office, if you could?”

“I suppose,” Maryse said, and hung up without saying goodbye.

Magnus curled up against his shoulder and said, “She’ll undoubtedly make you work late Tuesday, so I’m putting in my reservation for Wednesday evening now. You can come over and I’ll make you dinner. If I give you one of my spare keys, you can come in to my apartment building through the back.”

“Sounds good.”

Prying himself out of Magnus’ arms on Tuesday morning _was_ difficult, but he was in a good mood as he headed to work. Even Maryse’s immediate snappish attitude and demand for details about the trip – which Magnus and Alec had come up with over ice cream sundaes at midnight – didn’t dampen his spirits. He found that his work was coming quicker and easier than usual, as if he could suddenly concentrate and focus a hundred times better.

Maryse did, indeed, keep him working until almost eight o’clock on Tuesday, whereupon he hit the gym for an hour and then went home to fall into bed. Wednesday was a somewhat eye-opening experience. Alec expected he would be overcome with lust the minute he was in a room with Magnus again, but he actually wasn’t. The feelings were still there, but they stayed at the back of his mind until they had made and eaten dinner, and his self-control abruptly gave out while watching Magnus’ ass as he loaded the dishwasher.

On Thursday, he set his plan into action. After working until six, he sat down with his parents for dinner and said, “I’d like to talk to you both about something.”

Robert, at least, smiled at his son. “Of course, Alec. What is it?”

“I think it’s time I started handling cases of my own.” Alec felt butterflies swarm in his stomach, but fought them down. He reminded himself that even if his mother got angry, she couldn’t hurt him, not the way she used to. And she did look angry, her mouth puckering like she had bit down on a lemon. Robert just looked a little puzzled. “I’ve been with the firm for almost three years now, and you still have me writing briefs for the partners.”

“When you’re ready for your own cases, you’ll have them,” Maryse said.

“I’m ready now. I know you don’t doubt the quality of my work, because otherwise you wouldn’t have me work on your own cases. So what is it that makes me not ready?”

“You’re just too young, Alec. You can’t present yourself as an authority figure to a judge or jury.”

“There are lawyers out there younger than I am who are winning cases,” Alec said. “I’ve made a list. Civil cases won by lawyers who are twenty-four, twenty-five – I can do the same thing. Will I win every case? Maybe not. But I’m not accomplishing anything by standing in the shadows.”

“Even one lost case can damage a reputation,” Robert said, though his brow was furrowed and he looked more worried than angry.

“So give me slam dunk cases. I know we have some. Right now the bigwigs are using them to make themselves look good. But they already look good. I need to be given a chance to prove my worth.”

Robert considered this, then turned to Maryse. “He does have a point, honey.”

Maryse was still frowning, so Alec said, “You want me running for office when I’m thirty-four. If I’m going to do that, I need to stand on my own merits. I need to be somebody better than ‘Robert and Maryse Lightwood’s son’, somebody that can get votes just by being who I am. How am I supposed to do that if you never let me do anything on my own? In fact,” he added, and swallowed hard, “I think in a couple years I should probably either open my own firm or join a different one.”

“Leave the firm!” Maryse sounded appalled.

“I wouldn’t set myself up as a direct competitor. I can find a niche to specialize in. But you know a lot of people won’t want to vote for someone who’s worked for their parents their whole life. Speaking of which, I really should get my own place, too.”

“Now, hang on, you’re moving kind of fast,” Robert said, clearing his throat. “I think it’s perfectly reasonable for you to want your own cases that you can work from start to finish, but let’s not get carried away.”

“I’m just trying to do what’s best for my career,” Alec said. “I know how important my success is to you.”

Maryse took a deep breath and let it out. “Well, when we get to work tomorrow, I can look through our open or pending cases and select a few that might be appropriate for you. But let’s not hear any more talk about you leaving the firm that I’ve spent most of my life building.”

“Okay,” Alec said, and just let the apartment thing go. But he couldn’t help but smirk into his soup. His mother thought she was such a great negotiator, but she hadn’t even noticed Alec’s tactic of asking for way more than she would ever consider, to make his important request seem reasonable. It’s more than enough for now.

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

For weeks upon glorious weeks, everything was perfect. Alec saw Magnus two or three evenings a week for a couple hours, and then they would go on an actual date on the weekend. Although Magnus was correct in that the paparazzi would happily snap photos of him if they saw him out and about, they didn’t bother to follow him around. That meant that if they left the city, they were relatively safe.

It was kind of stupid, but Alec grew to love their weekend trips. They went to Cape Cod and walked the beach, they drove up to Foxwoods and stayed at the resort, they went to a spa up in the Catskills. It almost always involved an overnight somewhere, amazing sex at a gorgeous hotel. Magnus was recognized a couple times, but nobody ever paid Alec any mind.

It didn’t take Maryse long to realize that Alec was staying out on the weekends, and she insisted on knowing where he was going. He told her that he was spending time with Izzy, and he’d thank her to keep her opinion about it to herself. Maryse was incensed, but Robert stepped in, seeming to realize that forbidding Alec would only make the situation worse.

Izzy and Meliorn did in fact occasionally join them, and of course Magnus and Izzy got along like a house on fire. Izzy pestered Alec to take their relationship public so Magnus could take her shopping in New York.

Meanwhile, he was taking his own cases and winning them, and although he didn’t love doing it, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. A lot of their cases honestly were frivolous lawsuits that were easy to get thrown out of court. Others could often be settled out of court for small amounts, using carefully worded language to make everyone leave happily.

Of course, that was only about half his cases. Others were the kind he hated, the kind where his client was obviously a jerk but had enough money to make lawsuits go away. Magnus could always tell when he was working that sort of case, because he got gloomy and frustrated. “Remember,” Magnus told him during a particularly bad case, “you do the job well now, so you can help people later.”

“Yeah. I was thinking about that, actually.” Alec chewed on the end of his pen, studying the papers in front of him. “About how I was worried that nobody would hire an omega lawyer, even if he has a successful case history. You know who I bet would?”

“Who?” Magnus asked, trying not to watch the pen.

“Other omegas.” Alec saw Magnus watching him and smirked a little but put the pen down. “I mean, there are entire college programs that don’t even allow omegas to apply. Companies that won’t hire omegas for certain positions. They’re just begging to get sued.”

“There’s no law against discrimination on those grounds, though, is there?” Magnus asked.

“Not _yet_ , but it’s what you were saying. This is how things change. There didn’t used to be laws against discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But people who did that got sued, and the laws changed. I never really wanted to be a lawyer, but, you know, maybe this is what I was meant to do. After my mother inevitably fires me, I’ll certainly have the time. And I could work pro bono, because to be honest, I’ve got more money than I know what to do with.”

“Do you really?” Magnus asked, curious.

“The firm pays well, believe me, and my parents have never charged me for rent or utilities because literally everything I make goes into my fund to run for office some day. It’s not like I’ve ever needed much spending money. I’ve invested a lot, so yeah, I’ve got a couple million in the bank, even without my parents’ help. Which, okay, it’s not enough to live off of forever, but it’ll keep me from going into the poor house if I don’t end up wildly successful.”

Magnus nodded thoughtfully. “And since there’s really no reason that an omega couldn’t succeed in any particular chosen field, it wouldn’t be difficult to prove discrimination.”

“Exactly. And while I might be the only one who hid it for a decade, I bet I’m not the only one who hid it for a year to get through an internship or something like that. There are people out there who can help me prove my point. I just need to find them.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Alexander,” Magnus said, smiling at him. “I think you’ll be incredible at it.”

“As long as I can survive defending some jerk insurance company who doesn’t want to pay their insured,” Alec grumbled.

Magnus sighed. “Well, perhaps once the details of the case become public and attorney-client privilege is no longer an issue, I’ll find myself making a donation to whoever gets screwed out of their settlement.”

“You’d do that?” Alec asked, surprised.

“Why not? I’ve actually been thinking about opening a charity foundation. The club has been doing well. The one in LA is opening next month, and I’m already bidding on a space in Vegas. I make enough money off that alone, let alone the fashion industry. Again, the clubs are something of a safety net for me.”

“You know, I read somewhere that you make way less than your competitors,” Alec asked, glancing over. “Lower markup?”

“High production costs. A lot of the big fashion companies outsource their labor to desperate people in horrific working conditions. I don’t. All my employees are well-paid and have full benefits. That’s one of the reasons my clothing is so expensive, and one of the reasons that reputation is so important to me. People are willing to pay more money for a Magnus Bane dress. In any case, I only make pennies on the dollar. Which is fine. I never had any real desire to be rich, although I have to admit that I do prefer it to the alternative.”

“God knows most corporations seem to be willing to do just about anything to get around spending money,” Alec said, rolling his eyes. “That’s what I don’t get about some of these people. Lawyers like my mom don’t come cheap, you know? But these people would rather pay for tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees than just settling up to begin with. Like it’s the principle of the matter. Which I could get if they were in the right, but they’re not, and they always know that they’re not.”

Magnus shrugged. “They’re playing the odds. Gambling that most of the people suing them won’t have the resources to pursue a serious lawsuit. Like me – when Morgenstern first fucked me over, I couldn’t have filed that lawsuit if I hadn’t actually been a lawyer myself. He had all but sunk my company, and I was seriously in debt. I never could have paid a lawyer – well, a good lawyer would have taken the case on contingency, but you see my point. These people simply bank on the fact that most cases will get dropped or whoever’s suing them will settle for far less than the case is worth because at least that way they’re getting _something_. Like what Morgenstern tried to pull with me. If my company hadn’t recovered in the meantime, while he was dragging the whole damned thing out, I might have been tempted to settle for fifty grand.”

“God, people are such assholes,” Alec groaned.

“That is very true,” Magnus said, amused. “But I think your plan is amazing. So work hard now defending the assholes, so you can stick it to them later.”

“Sounds dirty.”

“It wasn’t, but would you like me to be?”

“Pretty much always,” Alec said, which was effectively an end to their conversation.

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, this chapter probably should get a warning for emotional abuse, emotional manipulation, and basically just a lot of people being very mean.... mostly me. *sneaks away*

 

The drop of the shoe was sudden and without warning.

It wasn’t the paparazzi that betrayed them; it was one teenage girl with a Twitter account who snapped a photo of them as they left a restaurant in a small town upstate and tagged Magnus in it, thus resulting in every single one of his followers seeing it. The caption was completely benign, just ‘spotted @MagnificentBane at work tonight, life so complete!’

Unfortunately for Alec, by the time Magnus saw it and called to warn him, he was in meetings and couldn’t get to his phone, and he didn’t see the message before his mother stormed in, slammed her laptop down on his desk, and said, “What is _that_?”

“A Toshiba netbook,” Alec answered.

Maryse’s mouth tightened and she jabbed at the screen. “That, Alec. That picture.”

Alec saw the picture on the screen and his stomach dropped. He had thought about this, prepared for it mentally even though he knew he couldn’t really prepare for it emotionally. He had done nothing wrong, and he wasn’t going to act ashamed or apologize. “Looks like it’s a picture of me and Magnus Bane at a restaurant that has great pancakes.”

Maryse went red and she slammed his office door shut. “And what,” she hissed, “were you doing with Magnus Bane at a restaurant that has great pancakes?”

“Eating . . . pancakes,” Alec said slowly.

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood, you will stop attempting to obfuscate _immediately_ ,” Maryse snapped.

“I’m not obfuscating. I just don’t know what you want me to say. Yes, it’s a picture of me and Magnus Bane on a date. I’m not going to lie to you and say I’m not dating him. What would the point be? You’re looking at the evidence. I figured you would probably find out sooner or later.”

“How _could_ you?” Maryse demanded. “After he made a fool out of me in court – ”

“No, Mom, _you_ made a fool out of you in court. I told you to settle, you decided to take your chances with a jury even though every fact was on Magnus’ side, and he won. End of story.”

“He – he is inappropriate for you in – in every way conceivable!”

“Because he’s a man?”

“Him being a man is the least of my concerns! Do you really think you’re going to get elected to office if you’re dating a stripper?”

“Well, to start with, Magnus isn’t a stripper. He’s a lawyer and a businessman and very successful at both those things. Secondly, I honestly don’t know how that would affect voter opinion, but thirdly I don’t actually care because the more I think about it, the less I want to run for office anyway.”

Maryse stood with her jaw ajar, sputtering. “After – after everything we’ve done for you – ”

“You never stopped to do the one thing that actually would have mattered: ask me what I wanted from life.”

“As if a child’s opinion should sway the actions of their parent! We were doing what was best for you!”

“No, you were doing what was best for _you_ ,” Alec snapped. “Because you were set on me being a politician, being a senator, maybe even being president one day. I don’t know why it’s so important to you, to be honest, but I don’t want that, Mother. I never _have_. I tried to go along with it for a really long time, but I just can’t pretend anymore.”

There was a knock on the door and one of the secretaries poked her head in. “Um, is – is everything okay?”

“We’re fine, Julia,” Maryse said, with a tight smile. “Please close the door,” she added, and the secretary obeyed and fled. Maryse turned back to Alec. “That little whore has gotten into your head and put all sorts of ill-mannered ideas there. Your sister’s probably had a hand in it too. Well, it’s not going to continue, but clearly we cannot have this discussion here. Finish your work, and I will see you at home tonight, and we will talk about this.”

“Sure,” Alec said, and Maryse spun on her heel and left the room. Alec pulled out his phone and noticed the messages from Magnus, sighed, and called him. “Hey.”

“Alec! Did you get my message?”

“Yeah, but not until it was too late. Mom would’ve seen it eventually anyway, so it’s not like the warning would have helped. Anyway, she’s furious, but she doesn’t want to lay me out at work. I’m really gonna get it when I go home tonight.”

“Does she know – the rest?” Magnus asked.

“No. And given how pissed she is, I don’t dare tell her. She’d probably bury me in a shallow grave. Look, I’m okay, Magnus. I’m upset, yeah, but I held my own and I’m not going to back down. She can’t make me stop seeing you. She’ll throw me out like she did Izzy, and wait for me to come crawling back.”

“Well, maybe I’ll take you apartment hunting tomorrow,” Magnus said.

Alec had to smile. “Okay, yeah, I – I’d like that. Anyway, I’ll call you when they’re done raking me over the coals tonight. But – thanks, Magnus. Knowing you’re there is – that’s what’s going to get me through this. So thank you.”

“I’ll talk to you later, darling,” Magnus said, and they said goodbye and hung up.

Alec sighed and went back to his work. He wanted to get as much done on his cases as possible, since there was at least a fifty-fifty shot that he was going to be out of a job the next day. He even wrote a brief summary of each case’s status for whichever attorney his mother designated to take them over for him, and a letter to each client explaining the circumstances, which he doubted his mother would deliver.

It was tempting to linger, to go out and get dinner or even go over to Magnus’ and avoid going home at all. But it would just be a delay of the inevitable. He did stop at a drive-through, because he doubted a family dinner was in the cards and he didn’t intend to starve himself. But by the time he got home, he was done eating.

Maryse was waiting for him, pacing the front hallway. “Get in here,” she snapped, the moment she saw him, and all but shoved him into the parlor where they entertained guests. There was a man there that Alec didn’t know, a middle-aged blonde wearing a suit and tie. Alec gave him a questioning look, but he didn’t introduce himself.

Then Alec forgot all about the man, because Maryse slammed a pill bottle down on the table and said in a quiet, deadly voice, “What are these?”

Alec’s blood ran cold. The bottle didn’t have a label, because street drugs didn’t come with one, but he didn’t think his mother would be bringing them into the discussion if she hadn’t already figured out exactly what they were. He bypassed answering and went straight for righteous indignation. “You went through my things?”

“Of course I went through your things! You were lying and keeping secrets. I had to know how many of them you were keeping, how many things I have to prepare to defend us from! But this! This is beyond anything I could have imagined! My son! An omega! How could you hide that from us?”

“I had to!” Alec protested. “I knew exactly what you would do if you found out. You’d disown me, throw me out. Why would I tell you if that was going to be the result?”

“Well, I suppose it would be too much to ask for you to care about your family’s future,” Maryse spit back. “Do you know what sort of scandal this is going to be?”

“It doesn’t have to be a scandal,” Alec said, trying to keep his voice calm and even. “That’s why I take the drugs. They let me control my impulses – ”

“Control them! Is that what you call fucking Magnus Bane? Controlling your impulses?”

Alec cringed a little, but rallied. “You know what, I don’t have to apologize for that. I’m an adult and I can have sex with whoever I want, and since we’re talking about things that are going to upset you, you should know that it’s a lot more than that with him. We’re dating. We’ve been dating for _months_. It’s a serious relationship.”

Maryse scoffed, but at this, the stranger intervened. He leaned forward, looking somber. “Alec. I know that you have reasons to think that, and I know that you probably aren’t fully aware of what’s been happening, but – ”

“Wait, who are you?” Alec interrupted.

“Show some respect!” Maryse gave his upper arm a firm smack. “This is Dr. Starkweather. He’s a . . . specialist . . . in this area.”

“Seriously? You called a psychiatrist for me?” Alec stood up. “I don’t need to listen to this. If you want to fire me, fire me. If you want to throw me out, I’ll be happy to go. But you can’t – ”

“Alec, we’re trying to help you,” Starkweather said, his voice still very calm. “I know you’re confused.”

“I’m really not,” Alec said.

“Being an omega can affect your thoughts,” Starkweather continued inexorably. “The hormones cloud judgment, and they – ”

“No, they don’t!” Alec shouted. “I’m just as God damned clear as either of you.” He turned to his mother and continued, “How do you think I got through law school with top grades? How do you think I’ve done any of the work I’ve done over the past two years? By being stupid?”

“No,” Maryse ground out, “but Dr. Starkweather has pointed out some alarming conclusions about your behavior – the fact that you still live at home, for example, or the way you were so submissive at work – ”

“All of those things are because of you!” Alec fought to control his temper. “Omegas aren’t any different from alphas. There, there’s history, it goes back to the seventeen hundreds, there was a politician – ”

“Oh please, are you going to try to tell me that you know more about this than an expert in the field?” Maryse snorted.

“Magnus told me – ”

“Of course he did. Please, Alec, sit,” Starkweather said. “Any alpha can sense a vulnerable omega. He’s been manipulating you, telling you what you want to hear so you’ll be more susceptible to his suggestions.”

“Telling me that I’m _not_ weak-willed and stupid is how to make me suggestible?” Alec asked.

“If it’s what you want to hear, then yes,” Starkweather said, and sighed. “I know that it’s a lot to take in, and I know that you don’t want to hear it. So much of your life, of the decisions you’ve made, clearly stem from your condition. But it’s going to be okay, Alec. We’re going to take care of you.”

“I don’t want anything to do with your idea of being ‘taken care of’,” Alec said, “and you can shut the fuck up about my boyfriend. Is that what an omega would say?”

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood!” Maryse takes a deep breath. “Dr. Starkweather has great expertise in helping people with your . . . problem. The hormone therapy is a good start, but there are more advanced treatments now.”

“Such as?” Alec asked.

“Aversion therapy – ”

“Well that sounds horrific – ”

“Thought exercises, mental conditioning – ”

“Brainwashing, you mean.” Alec took another step backwards. “Thanks but no thanks. I’m not going anywhere with him.”

“Do you care about this family at all?” Maryse asked. “Do you have any idea what this will do to the firm? We’re going to have to re-open every case you’ve ever worked on to make sure you responded appropriately, that you didn’t allow your hormones to affect your judgment.”

“I’ve won almost all of my cases!”

“That doesn’t mean we aren’t open to malpractice suits! If someone found out what you were, if they thought you hadn’t been aggressive enough during settlement negotiations – no, I’m sorry, Alec, but this is something you’re going to have to do. Dr. Starkweather runs an Institute where he works with omegas. We’ll tell our clients you’ve fallen ill.”

“I’m not going,” Alec said, “and you can’t make me.”

Starkweather cleared his throat. “Actually, we can.”

Maryse withdrew an envelope from her purse. Looking at it, Alec felt his stomach drop into his shoes. “Guardianship papers. I got them after our conversation this morning. Fortunately, Judge Herondale was able to expedite them for me.”

“You have – have no grounds,” Alec stammered. “You can’t say I’m incompetent. I’ve been successful – ”

“You’re a twenty-six year old omega who still lives with his parents, works for his mother, and has recently demonstrated a _clear_ lack of judgment when it comes to your romantic life,” Maryse said. “From now on, I’ll make all major decisions about your life. The first of which is that you will pack a bag and go with Dr. Starkweather to his facility.”

“You can’t do this,” Alec said. “Mom. Please. Look at everything I’ve done, everything I’ve accomplished. The things you want for me – we don’t have to give up on them. I can still be everything you want me to be.”

Maryse looked at him with pity and said, quietly, “Only an omega could say that and not realize how foolish it sounds.”

Alec’s resolve crumbled as all the familiar doubts came tumbling back in. Was she right? Had his behavior really been colored so much without him even realizing it? And what about Magnus? Was the alpha really manipulating him, or was he just a hopeless optimist? “Mom, please,” he whispered. “Please don’t do this to me.”

“This is for your own good, honey,” Maryse said, her tone gentle now. “I know that it’s hard for you to understand that, but it is. I love you, Alec. I want what’s best for you. You have to trust me.”

After a moment, Alec nodded. He just needed to think. Needed a quiet minute. “I’ll – I’ll go pack some things,” he mumbled.

“Okay. Oh – give me your phone,” Maryse said.

Alec reached into his pocket automatically, his hand tightening on the device. “W-Why?” he asked, and Maryse gave him an impatient look. He took it out and handed it over, and she tucked it into her purse. He turned and headed into his room and began to shove things into a bag without really thinking about it. What was there to think about? There was nothing he could do. Maryse had taken all his options away.

When Magnus didn’t hear from him, he’d want to know what had happened, and Magnus was smart enough not to buy that Alec was ill. But there wouldn’t be anything he could do either. Magnus was a good lawyer and had a lot of money, but the Lightwoods were powerful people. Maryse had more than one judge in her pocket. She already had the guardianship papers. What was Magnus going to do? Even if he sued them, he would never win, and Alec could hardly ask Magnus to put his entire life on hold for Alec’s sake. To be honest, he couldn’t ask Magnus to do anything. He had no way of getting in touch with him without his phone or his laptop. He would never see Magnus again.

His hands were numb, trembling, as he headed out to the other room. He had to trust his mother. Had to believe that she wanted what was best for him. She was his mother.

He had his hand on the door back to the parlor when he heard his mother speak. “I mean, you see what I have to put up with.” In a whiny, high-pitched tone, she said, “Mom, please don’t do this.” She resumed her normal tenor. “Typical.”

Alec backed away from the door. He stood there, frozen, for several long moments. His chest hurt, his throat was tight and aching. He thought of everything Magnus had said to him over the past few months. Maybe Magnus was manipulating him, but at least Magnus had never _hurt_ him.

He shouldered the bag and walked away. Out the back door and around the house. He began to jog as he hit the road. It wouldn’t take them long to figure out he had bailed, so he cut off the road and into a neighbor’s yard. He knew from his childhood with Izzy that there was a path through the woods that would come out in a different neighborhood. They wouldn’t get there for a while.

He came out on a dimly lit street and had to stop and think about how stupid this was. It wouldn’t change anything. They would find him and drag him to the Institute anyway. He couldn’t stop them, not if Maryse had legal control over him.

A few minutes later, he ducked into a convenience store. There was a bored looking teenager playing on his phone behind the register. Alec went to the ATM and withdrew two hundred dollars, which was his card’s limit. Then he walked up to the register. The store was empty. He slapped a twenty dollar bill on the counter and said, “I’ll give you twenty bucks to use your phone.”

The teenager blinked at him, then said, “Sure man, feel free,” and handed it over.

Alec started to dial Magnus, then realized it wouldn’t do any good. Magnus wouldn’t answer a call from an unknown number, and Alec didn’t dare leave him a voice mail with no way to know whether or not he received it or if he was on his way. He dialed Izzy instead. She picked up a little more cautiously then usual. “Hello?”

“Izzy, it’s Alec,” he said. “I need – need a ride. Can you come pick me up?”

“Sure. What’s going on?”

“It’s too complicated to explain. Remember the path through the woods we used to take to walk down to the little convenience store and buy candy? I’m at that store. I’m going to wait in the bathroom until you get here.”

“Alec, are you okay?”

“No, I’m really not,” he choked out. “Please come get me as soon as you can.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Alec hung up the phone and laid down another twenty dollars. “My sister’s going to come pick me up. Super hot, dark hair, you’ll know her when you see her.” Another twenty. “If anyone else comes looking for me, you haven’t seen me.” Two more twenties. “Okay?”

“Got it,” the clerk said, raking up the cash. Alec headed into the back and locked himself in the bathroom. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking. He couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid this was, how _screwed_ he was going to be when his mother caught up with him. He tried to think as little as possible while he waited, which was less difficult than it should have been, since his internal monologue at this point was mostly high-pitched screaming.

Eight minutes later, there was a knock at the bathroom door and Izzy’s voice said, “It’s me.” He came out of the bathroom and she immediately drew him into an embrace, hugging him so tightly that it hurt. “Come on.” She hustled him through the store and into her car.

Once they were on the road, he relaxed a little, and before she said anything, he choked out, “You can’t bring me back to your place. Mom’s going to look for me there.”

Izzy grimaced a little. “Alec, what is going on?”

“Mom – found out – oh God, you don’t actually know.” Alec laughed a little hysterically. “So, I’m an omega.”

“Oh.” Izzy blinked, then her eyes went wide. “Ohhhhhhh. Oh, shit.”

“That’s a pretty accurate summary, yeah.” Alec took a few deep breaths.

“Alec – ” Izzy reached out with one hand, found his, and squeezed it. “You know that this doesn’t change my opinion of you at _all_ , right? And that I’m not mad at you for hiding it from me, I mean, I completely understand why you didn’t tell anyone. Does – ” She squeezed his hand again. “Magnus must know, right?”

“Uh huh. He – talked me through a lot of things. Got me to the point where I was at least sort of okay with it, where I thought maybe it wouldn’t ruin my life. We had a plan, you know? About how I would get a successful case history with mom’s firm and then start working in discrimination law, helping omegas break into different fields, and – ” Alec choked again. “But then Mom found out about Magnus, and of course she flipped her shit about that, and she went through my stuff and found my hormone suppressants.”

“Oh, crap,” Izzy said. “You’re gonna be okay, though, Alec, I mean I’m sure she’s upset but – ”

“She got the court to declare her my guardian,” Alec said. “I am officially no longer in control of my own life. And she was going to send me away. Those – those facilities you hear about, where omega children of rich people go and don’t come back.”

Izzy said nothing for a long minute before she pulled into a parking lot. She put the car in park and turned to look at Alec. “We are _not_ letting her do that to you.”

“I don’t know what to do, Izzy. I’m all fucked up about this, but even if I wasn’t, she’s got all the power, the money – the law is on her side. I can’t fight her.”

Izzy reached out and drew him into an embrace. “The first thing we’re going to do is get you somewhere safe. Then we’re going to sit down and make a game plan. But if I have to buy you a fake identity and smuggle you out of the country in my suitcase, you are _not_ going to be shipped off to some godforsaken prison.”

“Okay,” Alec choked out, and hugged her back, hard.

After a minute, Izzy let him go and got on her phone. “Hey, babe. Does your friend Raj still work at that hotel in Queens? Great. Call him and tell him I need a favor. Alec’s finally told Mom where to stick it and I need a safe place for him to go. I need a room for the night, I’ll pay cash, no name. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Thanks, I love you.” She hung up and squeezed Alec’s hands. “We’re going to take care of you, Alec. I’m not going to let Mom hurt you. That’s a promise.”

Alec could only nod. He felt numb again. Izzy pulled back onto the street and headed for Queens. Twenty minutes later, they were at the hotel. Izzy exchanged quick words with an Indian man in a parking lot, whom she then embraced, then ushered Alec over to a room on the back of the hotel.

“I have to call Magnus,” Alec said, as soon as they were inside, “but he screens his calls. Will he recognize your number? I know you two did brunch a couple times without me.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m in his phone, yeah. I’ll put it on speaker.” Izzy tapped at her phone.

Magnus picked up a few moments later. “Isabelle,” he said, and that was all.

That struck Alec as odd, so he stayed silent. Izzy picked up on the vibe, too, because she said, “Is this a bad time?”

“Mm, well, it might be, depending what you want to discuss. There are some fine officers of the law at my apartment. They seem to think I might be hiding Alec in my closet. I can only imagine that Alec finally flipped his mother the bird and took off. They had a search warrant, though, which is truly impressive at this time of night, and now insisted I put this call on speaker and would like me to ask you if you’ve seen Alec.”

“No, I was calling to ask if you’d seen him,” Izzy said. “He told me earlier today that Mom had found out about your relationship and said he’d call me this evening, but he hasn’t called me and I’m worried.”

“Well, since he clearly isn’t in his mother’s clutches, I suppose we’ll have to assume he’s all right for now,” Magnus said. He sounded nonchalant, but Alec could hear the underlying notes of worry and of anger. “I’ll call you if I should hear from him.”

“Ditto,” Izzy said, and hung up. Alec sat down on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. “We’ll figure something out, Alec.”

“I just want to see him,” Alec whispered. “I guess that’s probably because I’m an omega.”

“I think it’s because you’re upset and your mother just tried to send you to prison,” Izzy said, sitting down next to him. “Why don’t you just tell me what happened, okay? Start at the beginning.”

After a minute, Alec nodded. It was hard at first, talking about how he had hidden who he was and how ashamed of himself he had been. Izzy cried a little when she heard about how her relationship with Meliorn had made Alec certain that his mother would never accept him. Then he told her about meeting Magnus, about all the things Magnus had taught him and how happy they had been together. Then he told her about what Maryse and Starkweather had said.

“What a load of horseshit,” Izzy said, and Alec managed a wan smile. “Even if they believed it was true – which honestly I wouldn’t bet on – it isn’t. Okay? You are an amazing success, Alec. Yes, okay, you work at your mother’s firm, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve won cases, a _lot_ of them. You’re a great lawyer. So don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

“She said they were going to re-open all my cases.”

“She can go to hell,” Izzy said, and then her phone rang. She glanced down and frowned slightly. “Unknown number.” She tapped the screen. “Hello?”

“Isabelle? It’s Magnus. I’m on a friend’s phone, in case they’re listening to mine. It’s safe to talk now. Is Alec with you?”

“Yeah, we’re at a hotel my friend works at,” Izzy said, putting it on speaker.

“Thank God,” Magnus said. “Alec, I’ve been so worried. What on earth happened?”

Alec had to swallow down the lump in his throat; the relief over hearing Magnus’ voice was so strong. “Mom found my hormone suppressants. She had one of her judge friends give her guardianship over me. They were – going to send me to some Institute for ‘therapy’. I pretty much snuck out the back door and called Izzy to get me.”

“Well, thank God for that and good for you, darling,” Magnus said. “Are you safe?”

“As safe as we can be for tonight, I think. We were careful. Mom will go to Izzy’s, and since Izzy won’t be there, she’ll suspect that she’s helping me, but I don’t think they can find me or prove anything.”

“By morning I’ll have half a dozen friends all swearing I was with them all night,” Izzy added. “But we need a long-term plan.”

“Agreed,” Magnus said. “I have a few ideas, but I’m very sure that my building is being watched. If I leave, they’ll follow me, hoping that I lead them to Alec. Maryse has enough money to hire a dozen private investigators. Your place is probably being watched, too, so once you go back, don’t go to Alec’s again. What hotel are you at?”

“The Lexington Inn. Room 114.”

“Okay. Alexander, darling, I’m going to send someone to pick you up tomorrow morning. I think it’d be best to get you out of the city for now. I’ll come see you tomorrow night – it’ll be easy to lose my tail if they follow me to the club when it’s busy. Until then, just hold tight.”

Alec tried to breathe. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll be okay.”

“You’re better than okay. You’re incredible, and I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourself.”

“I didn’t,” Alec said glumly. “I let her talk me into going and then ran out the back door.”

“That’s still standing up for yourself, compared to the alternative,” Magnus said. “You’re going to be fine. Izzy and I will make sure of it. Get some rest. I’ll call you in the mo – oh, you don’t have a phone. I’ll buy one for you and have Ragnor bring it. Trust him. He’s my oldest friend.”

“Okay. Thanks, Magnus. I – ” Alec cut himself off. He wanted to say ‘I love you’, but he hadn’t said it yet, and he shouldn’t do it for the first time over the phone.

“Me too,” Magnus said quietly, and then hung up.

Alec flopped backwards onto the bed and looked at Izzy. “Don’t leave, okay?”

“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away,” she said. “We’re going to build a fort with the blankets and have a slumber party, just like old times.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all find reading this chapter as satisfying as I found writing it. XD

 

Alec wasn’t sure what he was expecting from Ragnor Fell, but a burly, jovial, middle-aged man was not it. When Magnus had said ‘his oldest friend’, Alec had pictured someone from his days as a stripper, but apparently Ragnor was even older than that. “Magnus’ family had the apartment downstairs from mine when he was a kid,” Ragnor told Alec as he ushered him over to the car. “I tried to look out for him when his mother wasn’t feeling well. You know, his stepdad was kind of a piece of shit. When Magnus was in foster care, he wound up in some bad places, and he’d come see me for advice sometimes. He was a good kid, but life kept kicking him in the ass.”

“Yeah. I know that feeling,” Alec said, with a shaky laugh.

“You hungry? Let’s get some breakfast.” Ragnor headed for a Dunkin Donuts before they got on the road out of town. Alec tried to slump down in his seat and hoped nobody would notice him. “Relax, kid. There aren’t spies at the donut place.”

“I’m probably all over the news,” Alec said, feeling despair creep up on him.

“You know, Magnus warned me you would be, but I looked and there hasn’t been a peep. Guess your mom must be keeping it quiet, not wanting the scandal.”

“Oh.” Alec felt his stomach settle. “Okay.”

“She probably figures if she just has her lackeys stake Magnus and your sister out for a couple days, they’ll figure out where you’re hiding. Which is really idiotic, to be honest. It’s like she doesn’t remember that Magnus is almost as rich as she is, and can certainly find a friend to drive you out of town.”

“Yeah, well, Mom’s kind of made a pastime of ignoring Magnus’ positive qualities,” Alec said.

Ragnor barked out a laugh. “So I’ve heard. Magnus has told me all about you, you know. He’s head over heels for you. I’ve known him since he was knee-high and I’ve never seen him so happy.”

Alec flushed pink and changed the subject. “So where are we going?”

“We are going to New Rochelle,” Ragnor said. “I have a house there. See, Magnus knew I hated living in the city, but I never had the money to move. One of the first things he did after he hit the jackpot was get me a new place. Don’t worry, though, it’s all under my name. Unless your mom subpoenas Magnus’ financial records from three years ago, they won’t tie it back to him.”

“She might,” Alec said, feeling gloomy again.

“Yeah, but not today. It’s not a long-term solution, but we can stash you there while things settle down. I’m sure Magnus is cooking up some sort of plan.”

Alec nodded and fell silent. It started to rain, and traffic was heavy, so Ragnor devoted his attention to the road. About half an hour later, they pulled into the driveway. The house was an unassuming little one-story tucked away at the end of a road. Alec felt his nerves settle a little as he went inside. He was thinking about what Izzy had said, about how they would smuggle him out of the country if necessary. As the hours dragged by, he was getting less scared and more depressed. Regardless of what happened now with his mother, the life he had wanted for himself was gone.

“Tea?” Ragnor asked, then looked at Alec and said, “Or maybe you should just go lie down. You look exhausted.”

“I didn’t sleep well last night, and I probably won’t sleep well now, either,” Alec said. “Tea sounds great.”

“Sure.” Ragnor went into the kitchen and busied himself. “Don’t be so worried, though! Magnus is a genius. He’ll get everything straightened out. I’m sure right now he’s sitting with his head in those law books of his, finding whatever loophole he can use to get you out of trouble.”

“That’s not it,” Alec said. “I mean, it _is_ it, it’s just - I shouldn’t need Magnus to bail me out. I, I should be able to handle this, but I can’t. I’m just - I’m just another omega who has to hide under an alpha’s skirts when I can’t manage things. Maybe my mother is right. Maybe I should just - ”

“Now hang on just a second,” Ragnor said, shaking a teaspoon at Alec. “For one thing, I’m pretty sure that your mother has never been right about anything in her entire life. But that’s beside the point. You don’t need to be rescued because you’re an omega.”

“If I wasn’t an omega, I wouldn’t be in this mess,” Alec said.

“Okay, I’ll grant that your problem stems from your omega status and your mother’s prejudice, but my point is, the fact that you’re an omega isn’t why you can’t _deal_ with the problem. We - people in general - are not built to handle everything alone. Needing help isn’t something that makes you weak. It just makes you human. And frankly, damn your mother to hell if she ever told you otherwise.”

Alec was somewhat taken aback. “But I - ”

“Magnus has told you about Camille, hasn’t he?” Ragnor said. “Did he tell you about how he came and stayed with me for a couple weeks afterwards? Because he needed help and he knew it. He was a wreck. He was still half-convinced that everything she had done to him, he somehow deserved. There were still times when he wanted to throw himself at her feet and beg her forgiveness - and this was after she deliberately torpedoed his career out of spite! So if a strong, intelligent alpha like Magnus Bane can need help after someone tried to ruin his life, why can’t you?”

Alec took a deep breath. He could feel tears stinging at his eyes. After a minute, all he could manage was a nod.

“I don’t know all the details of your situation, Alec, but trust me on this much - when someone deliberately hurts you, there’s no shame in seeking help or comfort from the people who care about you. Magnus doesn’t want to ‘rescue you’ because he’s an alpha and you’re an omega. He wants to help you, because he loves you.”

Alec nodded again and managed a strained, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now, we’re going to have some tea and I’m going to pull out the photo albums, because I have pictures of Magnus when he was a skinny little rail in Bermuda shorts with band-aids on his knees, and you absolutely have to see them.”

At this, Alec laughed, startled. “Okay. That sounds like fun.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

After the photo albums, Ragnor introduced Alec to daytime television, and he surprised himself by falling asleep on the sofa. He didn’t wake until Ragnor started making dinner. The anxiety started creeping back in, but it was manageable. He knew Magnus wouldn’t get there until late. Things at the club didn’t really kick into gear until after ten, and then he would have to drive up to New Rochelle.

Ragnor started yawning around nine thirty, and Alec told him to go to bed, but he insisted on staying up until Magnus arrived. Alec’s heart leapt into his throat at every small sound, but finally, after what felt like an eternity, he saw a car pull into the driveway. A minute later, there was a quiet knock on the side door. Alec pulled it open and Magnus all but threw himself through it and into Alec’s arms.

“God, I’m so glad you’re all right,” Magnus murmured into Alec’s neck, as Alec clung to him involuntarily.

“Thanks to you,” Alec said.

“Thanks to _you_ ,” Magnus corrected. “You got yourself away from her. I just found you a ride.”

Alec took a deep breath and clung tighter for a few moments, his fingers clutching at Magnus’ shirt. “I couldn’t have done any of this if it weren’t for you. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Magnus leaned up for a kiss, but it was brief and chaste. They held each other for another moment before Magnus reluctantly let go, then went over and embraced Ragnor.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Ragnor said, yawning. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Magnus said, as Ragnor departed. He turned to Alec and said, “You must be tired. We could wait until morning - ”

“Actually I slept a big chunk of the afternoon,” Alec said. “Ragnor put on daytime talk shows.”

Magnus snorted. “I have very fond memories of watching daytime talk shows with Ragnor when I was young.”

“Well, God knows the company was better than the programming,” Alec said, then added, “He, uh, he’s really nice. Thanks for sending him. He said some things that helped me a lot.”

“That sounds like Ragnor.” Magnus guided Alec over to the sofa and sat down. “So, as you can imagine, I’ve spent a great deal of today trying to figure out the best course of action. Your mother has kept this out of the news, which is very beneficial to us. I’ve researched her guardianship claim and unfortunately, I think it might be difficult to overturn quickly. In the long run, yes, I think it could be done, but . . .”

Alec let out a breath. “Okay. So?”

“Let me present what I think are the two best possibilities. One is the one that Izzy came up with in the beginning - to get you out of the country. I have some friends with, ahem, less than savory connections, and more than enough money to get you a fake passport, bank account, et cetera. Your mother has probably given your picture to the TSA agents at La Guardia and JFK, but Ragnor could drive you up to Boston or hell, even Miami. A private plane is a possibility, too, though it might be a little tricky as I’m sure they’ll suspect we might try something like that. In any case, I’m sure I can effectively disguise you - you’d be amazed what makeup contouring can do. Et cetera, et cetera, if we wanted to get you out of here to start a new life in wherever, that’s an option.”

Alec was quiet for a long minute. He had been thinking about that off and on all day. Finally, he lifted his head and said, “No. Only as a last resort. I can’t live running scared of her, looking over my shoulder, waiting for her to find me.”

Magnus nodded and didn’t argue. “Okay. Then there’s plan B, which is to make your mother back down.”

Alec let out a startled laugh. “ _That_ is one of the two best plans you came up with? My mother has never backed down in her life. She went to court over three hundred bucks in legal fees.”

“So did I,” Magnus said, his eye glinting. “And I won.”

“Okay, point,” Alec said, taking a moment to appreciate how attractive Magnus was in that moment, “but we have no leverage.”

Magnus’ mouth curved in a wicked smile. “Oh, but darling, I’m fairly sure that we do.”

  
~ ~ ~ ~

 

To be honest, Alec was glad that he wasn’t going to need to face down his mother. Whether it was because he was an omega, because he was an abuse victim, or because he was just tired, either way he was happy to let Magnus do the heavy lifting, especially because Magnus was clearly spoiling for a fight anyway.

“So, I’m going to leave my phone’s microphone on,” Magnus said, tapping the screen on Alec’s new phone. “I’ve cloned my device on yours, so you’ll be able to hear everything I hear. If at any point you have questions for me or want to give your input, just text me. You promise you’ll let me know if you don’t agree with any of the arrangements?”

“I promise.” Alec leaned over for a kiss. They had driven back into the city that morning, and now he was in a room in the hotel closest to Maryse’s office. He wasn’t exactly comfortable being there, but some of Magnus’ confidence had worn off on him. After Magnus had departed, Alec lay down on the bed with his phone on speaker. At first it was just some traffic noises, the low hum of voices in a building.

Then Magnus’ beautiful voice. “Good morning, Charlotte. I need to speak with Mrs. Lightwood.”

“Do you have an appointment . . .?” Charlotte’s voice was a little breathy, and Alec knew her well enough to know that she had instantly recognized Magnus.

“No, but I’m very sure she’ll want to see me. I need to talk to her about her son. If you wouldn’t mind?”

“I’ll let her know you’re here,” Charlotte said.

Bare moments later, Maryse’s voice, shrill and demanding, echoed into the room. “Mr. Bane, if you are not here to tell me my son’s location, then - ”

“I’m sorry, but that’s privileged information,” Magnus said, sounding so smug that Alec could practically see his smirk.

It certainly tripped Maryse up. “Privileged?”

“Yes. Alexander has hired me to represent him, and therefore all information I have on him would be protected under attorney-client privilege. If we could discuss this in private?”

There’s the sound of footsteps and then a door closing before Maryse said haughtily, “Alexander can’t hire you. He has been declared incompetent.”

“Well, in most circumstances you are correct, but if someone wishes to legally challenge a declaration of incompetence, they are allowed to seek their own counsel. How could they issue the challenge, otherwise? They certainly can’t rely on their guardians to hire someone for them. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? We both know that this ‘guardianship’ is bullshit.”

“I know of no such thing,” Maryse said.

“A declaration of incompetence with no hearing, no expert opinions, nothing but a pissed off mother and a bottle of hormone suppressants? Please, Maryse. I know exactly how you got that declaration. Isn’t Judge Herondale’s husband running for Congress next year? Amazing what an endorsement from a sitting senator can do.”

Alec could practically see his mother’s face turning red. “I don’t see how it matters. Alec has been declared incompetent. That is a fact. And him running to his alpha to get him out of trouble isn’t going to help him any in the eyes of the court.”

Magnus sighed. “Yes, hiring a competent attorney is _obviously_ a foolish thing to do when your mother is trying to lock you up and throw away the key. But you don’t quite see that the ledge you’re standing on is starting to crumble underneath your feet.”

“Oh, enlighten me,” Maryse said, her voice dripping sarcasm.

“Would we win, if we challenged this in a court of law? I honestly don’t know. The law is prejudiced against omegas and biased in favor of mothers. So it’s certainly possible that we could fight you and still lose.”

“That certainly makes me feel insecure in my position.”

“But you don’t want this to go to trial, Maryse. I know that, because you’ve done your utmost to hide what’s happening. Even the police officers who came to my apartment didn’t know _why_ they were looking for Alec - only that they were. There’s been nothing in the paper, and I confirmed with a friend who has a pending lawsuit that Alec’s clients have merely been told that he’s ill. You don’t want anyone to know that your son is an omega, let alone that you’re trying to get him declared incompetent and taken away to somewhere quiet that he won’t embarrass you.”

“So what’s your point, Bane?”

Magnus laughed. “My point, Mrs. Lightwood, is that I don’t do _anything_ quietly. Let’s take it to trial! I’d be happy to. I will drag it out for months. I will bring in expert after expert. Oh, and not just on the difference between alphas and omegas, but on the symptoms of emotional abuse. Try to prove in a court of law that Alec’s behavior is because of his omega status and not because you’ve been suffocating him since the day he was born. I’ll fight you for every inch. I’ll put Isabelle on the stand to testify about how she, an alpha, was affected by your behavior. I’ll bring in his college professors to talk about his intelligence and his former clients to talk about his skills. Oh, and believe me, I’ll make sure that the world knows you got this guardianship order underhandedly in the first place. Speaking of people running for office, isn’t Robert up for re-election this year? I’d hate to see how accusations of child abuse would affect his campaign. He’d spend more time talking about that than about any of the issues.”

There was quiet for a minute. Maryse was clearly seething, but hadn’t found a way out, not yet.

“Or,” Magnus said quietly, “you can let Alec go his own way. Quietly resign from your company, get his own apartment, and live a happy life. He and I will both sign nondisclosure agreements stating that we won’t go to the press about your attempts to ruin him. Everybody goes home happy.”

“You can’t do even half of what you’re saying,” Maryse gritted out.

“Oh, I can’t?” Magnus’ chair creaked as he leaned back. “Do you know how many followers I have on Twitter?”

“That - that is hardly a reputable - ”

“Doesn’t matter. Once you’re trending, nobody cares where it started. Oh, look, my current count is forty-four million. Forty-four _million_ people that I can tell, in the blink of an eye, that your son Alec is an omega and I’ve been hired as his legal counsel to fight for his freedom.”

“I’ll have a judge issue a gag order.”

“In the twenty seconds it’ll take me to write and post that? I sincerely doubt it. And trust me, Maryse, once something is on the internet, it _never_ goes away.”

“You can’t - ”

Magnus started dictating what he was typing on his phone. “‘Can’t believe that in 2016 my darling omega boyfriend has to fight for his free - ’”

“Don’t you _dare_ hit another button that phone.”

Magnus slammed the phone down on the desk so loudly that Alec flinched. “You have thirty seconds to get on the phone with the judge, Maryse. I’m not leaving until those guardianship papers have been revoked and Alec has full access to his finances. Then, and _only_ then, will I bring my client in to sign his NDA and his resignation from your firm.”

Maryse took a minute to strangle out, “I have a condition.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“He is not to use the Lightwood name. Not in any career he chooses to take.”

Alec lifted his head, sighed, and picked up the phone. He texted Magnus, ‘can I use yours?’

A few seconds later, Magnus texted back, ‘I’d be happy to share it with you.’

‘Then ok,’ Alec said.

Out loud, Magnus said, “That’s acceptable. Now call the judge.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is NSFW. =D

 

By the time the firm was going to lunch, it was over. The guardianship had been revoked, Alec’s finances were his own, and he had signed all the necessary paperwork to resign from the firm and promise that he wasn’t going to go to the press. Magnus brought the paperwork to the hotel so he didn’t have to go to the firm and see his mother. Alec called Izzy to let her know what had happened while Magnus brought the signed copies back to the Lightwoods’ office.

When he came back, he had lunch with him. They sat in the hotel room and ate sandwiches and didn’t talk very much.

After a long silence, Magnus said, “I know that I’ll probably have to tell you this every day for years, but you are amazing.”

Alec studied his can of soda. “I almost gave in,” he said quietly. “I didn’t see a way out. I went to pack my things. I just – she told me that she just wanted what was best for me, that she loved me. I would have gone with her. Except when I was done packing, I heard her say . . . just one more cruel thing. Mocking me. For begging her not to send me away. It hurt so much that I thought it might kill me where I stood. That’s why I ran away.”

Magnus sat down next to him on the bed and squeezed his hand. “She’s not a good person, Alec. The fact that she almost managed to manipulate you into this isn’t your fault. She’s your mother. I think we’re all hard-wired, to a certain degree, to believe what our mothers tell us. No matter the specific reason why, you were strong enough to walk away. That means the world.”

“Maybe I’ll believe that someday,” Alec said. “I thought – that I was never going to see you again.”

“I never would have stopped looking for you.” Magnus drew Alec’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss against his knuckles. “I would have broken you out of there Steve McQueen style, if I had to.”

“Sexy,” Alec said, smiling for the first time that day. Magnus leaned in for a real kiss, and Alec kissed back, waiting for the surge of hormones, but it didn’t happen. He pulled back and looked away. “Sorry, I just . . . I’m not sure, maybe something’s wrong with me, but I . . .”

“Alexander, you don’t need a doctor’s note to tell me you’re not in the mood.” Magnus reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Alec’s ear. “You’ve had a hard day. How about we go out and look at some apartments? I made a few calls yesterday.”

“You were that sure that we would get my mother to back down?”

Magnus smirked. “Forty-four _million_ followers on Twitter, Alec.”

Alec shook his head, laughing quietly. “Okay. Apartment hunting it is.”

Since Alec didn’t know where he was going to end up working – although he’d had a few ideas about it – they looked at places all over the city. He preferred something on the less expensive side, although in New York City that was always a challenge. The first three were drastically disappointing, even with the help of a realtor that Magnus knew.

“I guess I don’t really _need_ a place of my own,” Alec said as he somewhat skeptically viewed the rusty plumbing in the third apartment. “I mean. I could stay with you.”

“As much as I would love to have you, I think it would be good for you to have your own apartment,” Magnus said. “You’ve never lived on your own, and it’s an experience everyone should have. Eating mac and cheese in your underwear where no one can see you.”

“Okay, for one thing, yuck, and secondly, I refuse to believe you’ve ever done that.”

“For three days straight.”

Alec gagged and Magnus laughed.

“I’m serious, though,” Magnus said, once they were done laughing. “I mean, I think we could probably survive moving in together, but I don’t think we should do it because we _have_ to. I think we should do it when we’re ready to.”

“Yeah.” Alec rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Although since I don’t have my last name anymore, it’s kind of like we’re already married. Which means that I sort of proposed by text message. I, uh, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.”

Magnus leaned in for a kiss, amused despite himself. “I would never presume. And you can choose any last name you’d like. It doesn’t have to be mine. Which isn’t mine anyway,” he added with a laugh. “You don’t think I was born with the name Magnus Bane, do you? Good Heavens no. Actually I don’t even know what my last name was at birth, because my mother changed both hers and mine to match my step-father’s, who she married when I was only two. At which point I had the altogether normal name of Magnus Barnes.”

Alec snickered. “Bane suits you better.”

“It does, doesn’t it.” Magnus smiled at him. “But my point stands. You could choose anything, as I did.”

“I like Bane,” Alec said with a shrug.

“Well, then, we’ll have to discuss this more later, but in any case, you can share my name without marital obligations. There’s no need for a courthouse wedding.”

“I never assumed for an instant that you’d be willing to get married in a courthouse,” Alec said dryly.

“True. My wedding will be fabulous, as are all things with the signature Bane touch.”

“So, um.” Alec looked around as if wondering what to say next.

Magnus raised his eyebrows, but then reached out and took Alec’s hands in his. “You don’t have to say or do anything you’re not ready for. We’ve only been dating for six months. No matter what happens between us, I’m happy to let you share my name.”

“Thanks,” Alec said. “I mean, I want to. To ask you.” His cheeks flushed pink. “But I also feel like maybe I shouldn’t be making any major life decisions now, given everything that’s happened in the last couple days.”

“That seems quite reasonable, darling.” Magnus leaned in for another kiss. “Here’s an idea. Let’s consider ourselves engaged-to-be-engaged.”

Alec laughed. “What does that even mean?”

“It means that we’ve agreed that you want to ask, and I’d like to say yes, but as we’re not quite ready actually do that yet, we’ll wait until we are.”

“Okay.” Alec smiled despite himself and rubbed a thumb over Magnus’ cheek. “So, uh. You’d say yes, huh?”

“In a heartbeat, Alexander. I’ve never loved anyone more in my life, and to be honest, I don’t plan to. So when you’re ready, just tell me. I’ll be here.” Magnus looked around and his nose wrinkled. “Well, not _here_. This place is horrific. Shall we?”

Alec laughed. “Way to ruin the moment, Magnus. But yes, let’s get out of here before the cockroaches form an offensive.”

The next place they went was a loft in Brooklyn, and although it was a little out of his price range, he loved it from the minute he stepped inside. It was all warm brick and polished stone flooring and huge windows overlooking the city. “A gas range!” Magnus sounded impressed. “Forget it, Alec, I think I’m going to buy this place for myself.”

“Hey, you don’t need an apartment!” Alec protested.

“True, but this one is so much nicer than mine. Which I really only chose for its proximity to the club, since I knew there would be a lot of late nights there. But all right, Alexander, as long as you’re fine with the fact that I’ll be spending a lot of time here.”

“I think I can handle that,” Alec said.

“Handle away, darling,” Magnus said, smirking, before he turned to the realtor to ask her to get the paperwork. She said she had it in her car, and went down to get it. Magnus turned to Alec, who was standing at one of the windows but looking at Magnus instead of the view. “What are you thinking?”

“Honestly? That this is a really inconvenient time for my sex drive to recover.”

Magnus gave a snort of laughter. “Well, if you can manage another hour while we get the paperwork sorted, we can put off furniture shopping until tomorrow, and head back to my place. Sounds good?”

“Yeah.” Alec leaned in for a kiss. “That sounds good.”

They’re halfway through the paperwork when Magnus’ phone chimed. He glanced down at it casually, did a double take, and then frowned slightly. “What is it?” Alec asked, as Magnus started tapping the screen.

“Well, remember the photo of the two of us that went around Twitter and started this whole,” Magnus waved a hand in the air, “ordeal? Well, one of the tabloids finally figured out that the person with me in that photo is an up-until-yesterday-in-the-closet senator’s son, and they’re all having a field day with it now. That was my PR rep, wanting to know if we should confirm, deny, or have no comment. Thoughts, darling?”

Alec’s face was blank for a moment as he wrestled with the implications. “Uh, would you excuse us for a moment?” he said to the realtor, who nodded and smiled and stepped out of the apartment. Alec pushed both hands through his hair. “What about the NDA?”

“The NDA only stated we wouldn’t talk about your mother’s attempts to institutionalize you, or the reason you left her firm. Anything else is fair game, including your omega status.”

Alec frowned. “Did mom even _read_ what you had me sign?”

“Oh, she did, but she can’t legally forbid you from disclosing that since it would come up in the future on things like job applications, medical appointments, et cetera. Now, she would probably appreciate it if you didn’t announce it, but she can’t forbid it.”

“Okay.” Alec let out a breath and considered for a long minute. “Then I guess we should confirm it, right? I mean, it’s not the last time people are going to see us together, and it’ll be nice to be able to actually walk around in the city with you.”

“If you’re sure,” Magnus said. “There’s no rush.”

“No, but it’d be stupid to deny it and then admit it later.” Alec shrugged, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s fine. I mean, let’s not announce the omega thing, but it’s fine for you to say that yes, we’re in a relationship.”

“All right.” Magnus started tapping at his phone, and Alec went to finish up with the real estate agent.

About an hour later, they left and headed back for Manhattan. By this point, it was getting fairly late, so Magnus proposed dinner, despite both their eagerness to get back to Magnus’ place. There was an Italian restaurant only a few blocks from his apartment, and Alec agreed. “Let’s eat outside,” Alec said, as they got out of the car. “It’s a nice night.”

“That might not be advisable, unless you want a dozen more photos taken of us.”

Alec thought about it, then shrugged. “I don’t mind. Like you said, people are going to see us together. And you look great.”

“Well, thank you,” Magnus said, smirking. The maitre d found them a table by the fence that separated them from the sidewalk, and Magnus ordered them a bottle of wine.

It took the paparazzi less than half an hour to realize they were there. Magnus smiled for a few photographs and then politely asked if they could be left alone to enjoy their meal. “Nobody can eat linguini graciously,” he added, and several of them laughed.

One of them, however, was a little more insistent. “So, Mr. Lightwood! How does it feel to be out of the closet?”

“I was never really in a closet,” Alec said with a shrug. “Heterosexuality isn’t a default setting, you know. I’m not responsible for society’s assumptions.”

Magnus was clearly amused at that, smirking into his wine. The reporter was clearly a little surprised, but pushed onwards. “There are rumors that you’ve left the Lightwood firm. Is that true?”

“That is correct,” Alec said.

“Because of your relationship with Magnus?”

“I can’t comment on that at this time.”

“You know they’ll take that as a yes,” Magnus murmured.

Alec just shrugged, a motion that clearly conveyed ‘the NDA doesn’t stop me from allowing the tabloids to draw their own conclusions’. Their food arrived then, and Magnus managed to shoo the reporter away so they could eat in peace.

“Your mother,” Magnus said, “is going to see that in the news tomorrow and blow her stack.”

“Serves her fucking right,” Alec said, and Magnus laughed. “I’m not going to keep my relationship with you a secret. I don’t care if she doesn’t like it or not, and it’s not my problem if every rational person in the world draws the conclusion that she got pissed off and fired me.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Magnus said, lifting his glass of wine, then winked and said, “Although not too much. We’ve got plans later, after all.”

Alec nodded and took a sip of his own wine. “Do you think . . . I mean, there’s not really anything she can do now, is there?

Magnus shrugged. “There is and there isn’t. Don’t get me wrong, Alec, she’ll probably try to ruin you just out of spite, the way Camille did to me. And if you actually still held dreams of being a successful corporate shark or getting elected to office, she could very easily cut those off for you. But if you intend to find a new dream, as it were, then there’s not much she can do to you.”

“Okay.” Alec thought about that. “She’ll re-open my old cases. Tell people that I didn’t do a good job – maybe even try to say I sabotaged your case against Morgenstern. That’s in appeals, isn’t it?”

“Of course.” Magnus rolled his eyes. “Morgenstern appealed the punitive damages. Now there is a man who doesn’t know when to quit. Fortunately, you stopped work on that case before we started seeing each other. Could your mother bring it up in appeals? Certainly. But she’d only damage her own reputation by doing it. She’s the one who argued the case in court; she’s the one who lost it. Any attempt to shift blame would be patently obvious.”

“All I did was do some preliminary research and a summary, anyway,” Alec said.

Magnus nodded. “Now, another possibility depending on how your mother wants to handle things is that she might decide to tell everyone you’re an omega. She can’t forbid you from doing so, so she might do it herself, to smear your reputation. That would quite possibly destroy your chances of a political career, maybe a legal one as well.”

Alec sighed. “I guess I should be okay with that, even if it’s just . . . really fucking petty.”

“You know, you don’t have to be ‘okay’ with your mother’s attempts to hurt you, even if they aren’t successful,” Magnus said, and leaned over the table to give him a kiss on the cheek. “But anyway, although she could do that, she won’t.”

“You don’t think so? It seems like her kind of spite.”

“She won’t, because of Max.” Magnus refilled his wine glass. “Your mother will almost certainly not recognize the fact that the loss of her two children, as she’ll perceive it, is her own fault. She knows now that all her hopes for the future of the Lightwood name rest on your younger brother. And since nobody knows how the genetics of ABO work . . .”

“If everyone knows that I’m an omega, it raises the question of Max being omega,” Alec said, and chewed on his lower lip. “What if he is? I mean, he’s only nine, there’s no way to know yet.”

“I’m not precisely thrilled to leave your younger brother in Maryse’s clutches, and I can imagine you’re even less happy about it,” Magnus said, “but I haven’t worked out a solution to it yet. Don’t worry, though; we’ll come up with something.”

“She’s never been as hard on him as she was on me,” Alec said, feeling gloomy. “I mean, she dotes on him. Things I would have gotten murdered for as a kid, she just thinks they’re cute when he does them. I’ve never figured that one out, to be honest.”

Magnus shrugged. “There are a lot of reasons parents can be harder on one child than another. It isn’t a reflection on you, so don’t worry about it. In any case, she might start putting a lot more pressure on him now that she’ll see him as carrying her hopes and dreams on his shoulders. In any case, all of that aside, no, there isn’t much your mother can do to you at this point.”

“I just . . . I _want_ to hope she tries to ruin me and gets mad when it backfires, I want to hope that everyone sees her for who she really is, but . . . what I actually want is just for her to leave me alone. Forever.” Alec sighed. “Which isn’t very impressive.”

Magnus was quiet for a minute, sipping his wine, before he reached out and gripped Alec’s hand. “Real life often isn’t, you know. You can think of what this would be like as a movie, some grand drama where everything falls into place and every character receives their just desserts. But real life isn’t like that, my love. Camille will probably go on to hurt more people and your mother will probably continue to have a successful career. What’s important, what makes things better, is distance. It’s moving on and getting to a place where what happens to Maryse, whether good or bad, isn’t important to you. After what happened with Camille, I threw myself into design because I wanted to prove her wrong, to thrive in a way she told me I never could. And I did. So will you. The absolute best way to deal with what your mother has done to you is to be happy in all the ways she’s told you that you shouldn’t or couldn’t be.”

Alec looked up and him and smiled, squeezing his hand. “You give the best advice. You know that, right?”

“Oh, well,” Magnus said, actually blushing. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“I would. I’m absolutely serious. You changed my life. You _saved_ my life. Just now I was thinking, you know, I don’t know how things would have played out between us if I really was an alpha. I know that me being an omega isn’t the only reason you were interested in me, but it’s why we . . . connected. And I just felt, for the first time . . . I felt really, really happy to be an omega. I felt happy to be who I am.”

 Magnus smiled a brilliant, heartfelt smile. “I’m glad.” He leaned over the table for a kiss, then murmured into Alec’s ear, “Now finish your wine so I can take you home and make love to you.”

Alec nearly knocked his wine glass over in his haste to reach for it, and when Magnus added, “In fact, I have something special in mind,” he nearly choked on it. A rather rushed three minutes later, they were on their way back to Magnus’ apartment.

“All right, now, sit right here,” Magnus said, gesturing to one of his plush chairs. “I’m going to change clothes.”

“Why?” Alec asked, trying to keep his cool. “I mean, you’ll just end up taking them off.”

“Oh, absolutely. I’m going to take them off very, very slowly, just for you.” Magnus winked and headed into his bedroom.

He came back out only a few minutes later, and he had put on music, a soft, sensuous song that was more of a beat than anything else. He was wearing black velvet pants that looked painted on, and a loose green shirt. Alec had to swallow hard, trying not to stare. “You don’t, uh, you know, I wouldn’t want you to do anything you’re not, not,” he stammered helplessly.

Magnus just smirked at him. “I’m not ashamed of having been a stripper,” he said, “and I’m _certainly_ not going to be ashamed of stripping for you. So you just sit and relax, and let me dance for you.”

“Okay,” Alec said, hoping his voice would stay in the same octave. It didn’t.

“Oh, and house rules, of course.” Magnus came over and had Alec put his hands on the arms of the chair. “Look, but don’t touch.”

“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you,” Alec said, his eyes glazing over.

“I would never.” Magnus walked around the chair, trailing his fingers over Alec’s shoulders and the back of his neck. Alec shivers a little, staring at Magnus as he shifted back and forth, moving effortlessly to the beat. It was less of a dance and more of a personification of sin in motion. Magnus ran his hands down his shirt, pulling it apart one button at a time before casting it off his shoulders to reveal the tight black tank top underneath. Alec stopped breathing.

Magnus inched the tank top up a little bit at a time, stopping periodically to just move to the music, well aware of Alec’s gaze fixed on the skin that was visible. He ran his hands over his own thighs, body twisting gracefully.

A small eternity later, he tossed aside the tank top and settled himself over Alec’s lap, although he didn’t quite lower himself far enough so they were touching. Alec’s hands curled over the end of the arms of the chair as he resisted the urge to grab Magnus and pull him closer. Magnus continued to writhe against him, running his hands up and down Alec’s chest, leaning in to just barely touch their lips together. Alec groaned despite himself. Magnus bit down on his ear, and Alec’s self-control broke with an almost audible snap. He grabbed Magnus’ ass and pulled him forward with such force that he nearly knocked the chair over backwards. Somehow Magnus’ mouth found his, and Alec kissed him with the desperation of a dying man.

“Take me to bed,” Magnus murmured, and Alec practically jumped to his feet, keeping his hands underneath Magnus’ ass to support his weight. Magnus helped by wrapping his legs around Alec’s waist, and a minute later, they spilled onto the bed together. Somehow they managed to get their clothes off, but they never stopped kissing for more than a minute.

Alec wound up on his back with Magnus making love to him, slow and deep and infinitely gentle. Every time Alec tried to change the pace or pull Magnus against him, Magnus just kissed him and murmured, “Not yet.”

He kept things building up slowly, until Alec was moaning underneath him, head tossed back as he gasped for air. “Please . . . Magnus . . .”

“Not yet,” Magnus said, but he was out of breath, too, and despite his words, he picked up the pace another notch. His hands dug into Alec’s hips, gripping hard. He made the mistake of looking at Alec’s face, eyes half-lidded and mouth open and bliss etched into every square inch. “Not . . . yet – oh, Alec – ”

Magnus shuddered against him and had just enough presence of mind to reach for Alec’s cock, giving him several quick strokes. Alec groaned, his own body going tense and shaking as he came. Magnus half-collapsed next to him, breathing hard, still trembling a little. Alec reached over and rubbed a hand down his arm.

They lay in silence, enjoying the afterglow, for several long minutes. Then Magnus started fumbling at the nightstand. “What’re you doing?” Alec murmured.

“I’m getting my phone, so I can take a picture of you,” Magnus replied, “so you can see how smug you look right now.”

Alec smirked. “Oh, I know how smug I look right now.”

“Like a cat that ate the canary.” Magnus gave up on his phone and ran his fingers over Alec’s lips.

“Whatever happened to alpha stamina?”

“Even I have my limits,” Magnus said. He did open one eye and say, “I hope you’re not too disappointed.”

“I don’t think it’s actually possible for me to be disappointed by sex with you.” Alec gave a content sigh and rubbed his hand up and down Magnus’ arm again. “It was amazing, as usual.”

“Well, good. Even so, I’ll try to keep it from happening too often.” Magnus yawned. “It’s really all because of you. I saw the way you looked in that moment and the beauty of it was too much to handle.”

“Shut up,” Alec said, laughing but embarrassed.

“I’m absolutely serious. I’ve traveled all over the world, walked the streets of Milan and Paris and Tokyo. I’ve worked with some of the world’s most beautiful people. But that, your face in that moment, was by far the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re such a sap,” Alec said, flushing pink.

“Oh, absolutely.” Magnus leaned down and kissed him, his thumb rubbing over Alec’s cheekbone and then trailing down his neck. “I would shout it from the rooftops. I’m lost in you, and I never want to be found.”

“Same,” Alec murmured. “Yeah. I would love to have something equally profound to say but I think you literally screwed my brains out. But same. Ditto,” he added, and Magnus snickered. “Stop laughing.”

“Make me,” Magnus said against his mouth, and Alec was happy to obey.

 

~ ~ ~ ~


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! You guys have been an amazing audience. <3
> 
> (In other related news, I got many comments about how happy people were that I wasn't super cruel to Alec and didn't send him away to be institutionalized. And I am happy that you are happy! But I also, um, might have written an alternate version of this fic which was much, much meaner to Alec from chapter 8 on. There are many reasons why I chose to go with this ending - POV issues being one of the major ones, as the other version worked better from Magnus' POV - but if you guys are interested in reading me being absolutely horrible to Alec and Magnus and a much more prolonged recovery, let me know and I'd be happy to post that version too. No pressure though, feel free to enjoy this ending just as it is! ^_^)

 

Alec looked around nervously as he poked his head through the door of the office of Branwell Legal Services. He still half-expected his mother to be around every corner, telling him to stop slouching and making a remark about whatever he was about to do. Instead, he was met by a man about his own age who seemed friendly. “Hi, uh, I’m here to see Lydia Branwell?”

“Do you have an appointment?” he asked.

“No. My name’s Alec Lightwood; she knows me.” Technically Alec couldn’t use the name, but he needed Lydia to recognize it. He figured that might happen a lot for a while.

The man nodded and gestured. “Have a seat.”

Alec nodded and did so. He had to put in effort to keep his feet from drumming at the floor. He knew that Lydia was a busy lawyer, but he had checked the court schedules to make sure she wouldn’t be in court today. He was prepared to wait if he had to.

Although Magnus maintained that Alec could get a job at any law firm in the city, Lydia Branwell was at the top of Alec’s extremely short list. She had been opposing counsel on three cases in the last six months, and Alec had only won once. The other two had settled in the favor of Lydia’s client. Of course, Alec was perfectly happy with that in some ways, because his client had been in the wrong both times, but he knew that Lydia was a good lawyer, thorough and methodical and devoted to her work. She was one of the busiest discrimination lawyers in the city, despite not having a partner.

“Mr. Lightwood,” Lydia said a few minutes later, coming out of her office and shaking Alec’s hand with a somewhat frosty smile. “Did I sue one of your clients again?”

Alec laughed. “No, actually. I’m here about something else.”

“Well, now I’m intrigued. Come on in. Coffee?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. That would be great.” Alec forced himself to swallow the knot in his throat, reminded himself for the tenth time that he really had nothing to lose here. He accepted the Styrofoam cup from Lydia and sat down across from her desk. “So, you’re probably going to think I’m crazy, but I’m just going to come out with it. I want to work for you.”

Lydia blinked at him several times. “Come again?”

“I want to work for you. As a lawyer. In discrimination suits.”

“Okay . . .” Lydia said, and thought about this. “No, I’m still confused.”

“Let me sum up,” Alec said. “You know those movies, they usually come out around Christmas time, where the main character is a workaholic who only cares about money, but through the magic of the season and occasionally supernatural intervention he suddenly learns to care about his fellow humans and devote his life to helping others? I’m starring in that movie.”

At this, Lydia laughed. “Well, that probably isn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, but I’m not sure why it leads to you sitting in my office asking for a job.”

“Honestly? Because you’re good at what you do, and I admire you. I know that I could learn a lot from you, and you could benefit from my help if only because you’re buried in cases and you must be working sixteen hours a day to keep up. Either you can’t find anyone else interested in suing rich people on behalf of the people they’ve stepped on, or you can’t afford anyone else, and I can solve both those problems. Both interested and willing to work for free.”

“For free?” Now Lydia looked skeptical. “Okay, now you sound crazy. Why don’t you just open up your own practice?”

“I, uh. I can’t. I mean, I could, but it wouldn’t work as well as you think, because, uh. Technically. I’m not Alec Lightwood anymore. I’m Alec Bane. I, uh. Agreed not to use the Lightwood name in my future endeavors. Which means that drumming up business would be a lot harder than just putting my name in the yellow pages.”

“Yeah, you’d have to stand around courthouses and troll through eviction notices the way I did when I was getting started,” Lydia said dryly. “But okay. I mean, you’re not wrong in that your expertise could be helpful. I know you’re a damned good lawyer. I guess I’m still looking for the trap somewhere.”

“Which, as someone who spent years with my mother, seems perfectly reasonable,” Alec agreed. “But it’s not. It’s kind of personal, and I don’t want to waste your time if you’re not interested, but . . .”

“Now I’m definitely interested,” Lydia said.

“It has to be kept in strict confidence. I actually signed an NDA, but it only says I can’t talk about why I left the Lightwood firm.” Alec let out a breath. “So, uh . . . I’m gay. And an omega. Draw what conclusions you will.”

“Wow,” Lydia said. “That actually explains a lot.”

“And what I want to do is overturn the legality of discriminating against someone based on their ABO status,” Alec continued. “I mean, I want to find people who were barred from different schools, jobs, et cetera, and sue on their behalf.”

“That sounds like a good twenty years banging your head against a wall,” Lydia said.

“I know. But I think it’s worth doing. Obviously it’s a long-term goal, and I’m perfectly happy doing other stuff in the meantime, you know, the cases about disability and gender and that kind of thing. I need a reputation under my new name before I would get any of my own clients anyway.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, actually.” Lydia pressed a button on her phone. “Jonathan, could you come in here?” she said, and a minute later the young man from out front came back. “Alec, this is my paralegal, Jonathan Monteverde. He made it through two years of law school before the dean found out he was an omega and decided he no longer qualified for his scholarship. Jonathan, this is Alec. He wants to sue Harvard for you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jonathan said, with a hint of a smile.

“Why haven’t you already sued them?” Alec asked, shaking his hand.

“Time,” Lydia said. “I don’t have it. It would be the first case of its kind, and as you’ve said, I already have a lot on my plate. But to be honest, if anyone can manage it, it would be the two of you. Jonathan, can you get a new hire packet for me?”

“Sure,” Jonathan said.

Alec sat back down and started breathing again. “So I’m hired?”

“Yes, and I’m even going to pay you. Although, I’m going to pay you a paralegal’s rate, because that’s what I can afford. I’ve actually been thinking about getting a second paralegal in any case. The majority of our work is done on contingency, but a lot of our cases don’t have a monetary award at the end, just an end to the discrimination, so . . .” Lydia shrugged. “Our payment plans are flexible, let’s just put it that way.”

“I’m not worried about money,” Alec said.

“Well, after six months working here, you will be,” Lydia said, grinning. “Welcome aboard, Mr. Bane. I think you’re going to fit right in around here.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

It took Alec about a month to psych himself up to visit his mother. He debated whether he should go to the house or the office, but decided to do it at the office because there was less chance she could try to kidnap him from there. That might have been a paranoid concern, but it was still a concern. Magnus didn’t want him to go at all, although he understood why Alec wanted to.

He even called Charlotte and scheduled an appointment, although he lied and said it was about a case. He had worked several by now, and won about half of them. It wasn’t the success he was used to, but Lydia had reassured him that he was doing fine. Their cases were the ones nobody else wanted, the ones that were going to be hard to win. Lydia’s own success rate was only around two thirds, she said, and it was one of the highest in the field.

Other than that, life was pretty good. He loved his new apartment. His commute was half as long as it had been, although he was working longer hours, at least ten hours every day, sometimes longer. He didn’t mind. For once, he was actually enjoying his work. Magnus was teaching him how to cook, and they saw each other almost every day.

Maryse greeted him with cold civility and didn’t speak until after the door was shut. “What do you want?”

“I want to talk to you about how to handle the fact that people are going to find out I’m an omega.”

Maryse’s jaw tightened. “You signed an NDA – ”

“Yes. The NDA stated I would not speak to anybody about Dr. Starkweather or his facility, or the reasons why I left the Lightwood firm. It didn’t say that I would have no social life and nobody would ever figure out that I’m an omega.”

“That isn’t my problem.”

“Well, that depends on how you define it. No, it isn’t your problem. It isn’t anybody’s problem, because my status as an omega is not a problem.” Alec saw her lips tighten and continued, “But you seem to feel otherwise, so I’m here, as a courtesy, to discuss the future implications with you. Whether you like it or not, I’m dating Magnus Bane. He’s a public figure. He’s also an alpha. People are going to have questions about the fact that he’s in a serious relationship.”

“Well, since Mr. Bane also signed the NDA, he’ll just have to keep his mouth shut, now won’t he.”

Since she clearly wasn’t going to budge, Alec dropped the hammer. “I’m participating in a lawsuit against Harvard for not letting omegas into their scholarship program.”

“You’re _what_?” Maryse recovered just in time to keep herself from raising her voice. “What kind of idiotic lawsuit – ”

“It’s one I can win. The candidate had excellent grades and was thought of highly by his instructors. He had successfully completed two years of school when they revoked his status. But, as I’m sure you know, it will be helpful to have other successful omegas interviewed as part of the case. I’m going to be one of them.”

“You – you can’t!” Maryse hissed. “The NDA – ”

“Again, only forbade me from discussing my reasons for leaving the firm.”

“Do you care about this family’s reputation at all?” Maryse asked, and this time her voice did rise in both volume and pitch. “Do you care about your father’s political career?”

“Honestly? No.”

Maryse was left with her jaw ajar.

“I’m telling you this to give you one chance to get out in front of it,” Alec said, “because I think that will be easier for me in the long run. I think a better way to do this is for me to come out of the metaphorical closet now. We can say I left the firm because discrimination law isn’t its specialty. Because there are omegas out there like me, omegas who could do great things if they’re given a chance, like I was.”

“Don’t give me any credit for that,” Maryse snaps.

“Are you sure? Because there’s credit there for the taking. You can tell people that you knew I was an omega but you just wanted me to have the best chance I could at a successful life. But if you didn’t know - ”

“If I didn’t know – which I’ll remind you that I didn’t, thanks to your deception and your lies – I can’t be accused of anything.”

“Directly, no. But just because I’m not allowed to tell the press what you did to me doesn’t mean that people won’t figure it out. I quietly resign from the firm and change my name, and a month later I go on record as an omega? It doesn’t exactly take a genius to put those pieces together. The rumor mill has already assumed I got fired for being gay. I know that Dad’s been getting a lot of heat over it. This is your chance to turn it around. Tell people you knew, and the only thing that you can be accused of is loving your son.”

Maryse said nothing.

“It’s up to you. It’ll be at least a month before the depositions start in the case. So you’ve got time to think it over. But I think you already know what the better plan is.” Alec stood up. “Don’t let your personal feelings interfere with your professional judgment.”

“Why are you doing this?” Maryse hissed. “If you really don’t care about my career or your father’s?”

“Because it’ll be easier for me if people think I left the firm voluntarily. It’ll take away some ammunition from the detractors who will undoubtedly try to torpedo my new cases by digging up scandal and wasting my time,” Alec said. It was true, but not really why. He was doing it for Max. If he did turn out to be an omega, Alec wanted to make sure that his mother wouldn't be able to hurt him. That would be a lot easier if he could put her on the record as supportive of his rights, even if it wasn’t in the slightest bit true. “Speaking of which, I’m done wasting both of ours. Let me know what you decide.”

He left the office feeling like he could barely breathe. He was glad beyond words to see Magnus waiting for him on the sidewalk outside the office, pulling him into a quick embrace. “How did it go?”

“About how we expected. She’s furious.”

“Will she cave?” Magnus asked.

“I don’t know. Probably not. She’ll know that she should, but her pride won’t let her. But that’s far more her problem than mine.” Alec twined his fingers through Magnus’. “Lunch? I hear there’s a great Ethiopian place a couple blocks away.”

“Oh, yes, I’ve been there,” Magnus said, smiling. “I had a marvelous first date there once.”

Alec kissed Magnus’ knuckles. “Me too.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

As it turned out, Alec’s first lawsuit was somewhat anti-climactic. Harvard had absolutely no interest in being bashed all over the internet as being prejudiced, and quickly agreed that revoking Jonathan’s scholarship was a mistake since he met all the criteria and his grades had been well above the requirements.

Jonathan was excited to get back into law school, but Alec wasn’t sure where to go next. He couldn’t just walk up to people and ask them their ABO status and then finish the conversation with ‘by the way, have you ever felt discriminated against?’

He was mulling this over during dinner when Magnus said, “You know, this might be a good time to remind you that I have forty-four million followers on Twitter.”

“Oh, yeah,” Alec said. “Uh. You want to make an announcement for me?”

The next day, Magnus posted a multi-part tweet about the systematic discrimination against omegas and asked anyone who had personal experience with it to contact his ‘incredible boyfriend’ who was organizing lawsuits to challenge said discrimination.

What came in wasn’t a flood, but it wasn’t a trickle, either. It took Alec several weeks to sort through all the information. Some of the cases had absolutely no merit – people who had been turned down for jobs or let go for perfectly valid reasons but were hoping to blame it on their omega status for a quick payday.

After a month, Alec had it narrowed down to three excellent candidates. One was a woman who had been denied an internship at a financial firm. The second was a teenager who had been disqualified from receiving financial aid to go to college even though he had already been accepted to the college in question. The third was a man who had been turned down for a small business loan by multiple banks.

“This is going to be fun,” he said.

Magnus smiled at him and said, “Just don’t forget about me.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen and you know it.”

Since the first lawsuit had resolved so quietly, it looked like Maryse was going to play the odds that nobody would ask her any questions about her son being an omega. Then, out of the blue, Robert called and said he wanted to sit down with Alec and talk about it. He wasn’t precisely happy about his son becoming a spokesperson for omega rights, but he also wasn’t happy with Maryse for trying to have him locked away, either. Alec was somewhat unsurprised to learn that Robert had found out about a lot of what had happened after the fact. Their relationship was rocky, but at least it seemed worth patching up. If for no other reason, Robert was able to help him keep in touch with Max, and Alec wanted to be damned sure that if Max turned out to be an omega, that he would have Alec’s full support.

Robert managed to convince Maryse that Alec was right, and that both their careers would be better served by pretending they had known Alec’s status all along. Alec was happy about that in one way, but watching his mother get interviewed by Ellen Degeneres, tearfully proclaiming that she had just wanted to give her son the best chances in life, made him want to break the television.

“I mean, I know I asked her to do it, I know that it’ll work better for me, for everyone, in the long run, but . . .”

Magnus studied the television, letting Alec rant. “But she’s taking credit for something that she did the exact opposite of?”

Alec slumped onto the sofa. “Yeah.”

Magnus squeezed his hand. “Remember why you did this, my love. Remember that it’s for Max, that this will protect him from her if he turns out to be an omega, that your little brother will be safe. And just think about all the mothers that she’s encouraging to give their omega children support,” he added, and when Alec sighed and nodded, he continued, “and think about how bloody furious knowing that will make her.”

At that, Alec laughed. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll try to remember that.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

_One year later_

 

Alec was slumped on Magnus’ amazing sofa when Magnus came in, carrying his laptop and smirking. “Look at this, Alexander, we’ve made Buzzfeed again!”

“My dream come true at last,” Alec said, not looking up from his book.

Magnus sat down next to him, not at all deterred by Alec’s reaction. “Nine Times that Magnus and Alec Bane Gave Us Relationship Goals,” he read aloud. “Let’s see what they have in here.” A pause. “Aww. That’s adorable.”

“Okay, fine, what,” Alec grumbled, tossing his book aside and then grabbing Magnus around the waist, smacking a wet kiss against the side of his neck while he laughed and protested.

“Number one: when they marched in the Pride Parade together,” Magnus said, showing him the picture. They couldn’t have looked more different, Magnus in an outfit that redefined extravagant, gauze and straps and brilliant colors, while Alec was in a black T-shirt and jeans and only had a little rainbow painted on his cheek. “Number two: when they shared a milkshake at Shake Shack.”

“What is so exciting about that?” Alec asked, leaning over Magnus’ shoulder to see the picture of the two of them. They each had a straw and were gazing adoringly across the table at each other. “Oh. That, uh. That picture is sappy as hell. We should frame it.”

“Agreed.” Magnus scrolled down. “Oh, Lord. ‘When Alec held up a menu for an entire meal so the paparazzi couldn’t take pictures of Magnus.’ That was when I was having that colossally bad hair day.”

“I still maintain that you have never had a bad hair day, and that you looked fine.”

“And yet you shielded me from the cameras nonetheless.” Magnus leaned up for another kiss. “Number four: when they cosplayed at the premiere of the new Star Wars movie.”

“I still can’t believe you talked me into that,” Alec groaned, reaching over Magnus’ shoulder so he could scroll faster. “Oh, this one’s cute, ‘when they adopted a cat together and suddenly Magnus’ Instagram was ninety percent cat pictures’.”

“I can’t be held responsible for how majestic Chairman Meow is,” Magnus said.

“You do post a _lot_ of pictures of him, though,” Alec said, amused.

Magnus didn’t dignify that with a reply. “Number six: when they got caught at the grocery store with a cart full of ice cream, wine, and nothing else.”

Alec sighed wistfully. “Now _that_ was a fun weekend.”

“Indeed . . . we should go back to Provincetown at some point.” Magnus scrolled down. “Number seven: When Magnus took absolutely no shit about marrying an omega.”

“Oh God, is that that horrible reporter from TMZ?” Alec asked, looking over to see the gif of Magnus verbally shredding someone who had told him he could ‘do better’. “I should have gotten some popcorn when I was watching that interview. I really don’t think that guy was asking for a twenty minute sociopolitical lecture.”

“Then he should have kept his opinion to himself,” Magnus said. “Number eight: When Alec is always happy to take a picture of Magnus with his fans. Look at that picture. They’re all so oblivious to the fact that you always eagerly offer to take the photographs so you can be sure you’re not _in_ them.”

Alec scowled. “I don’t like having my photograph spread all over the internet. Besides, your fans don’t want me in the photo anyway. They _appreciate_ me taking the photo.”

“It’s still adorable.” Magnus smirked at him. “Number nine: when they got married and it was magical af.”

“What’s af? Who makes up all these words?”

“Teenagers, and it stands for ‘as fuck’. It’s a good picture, though. One from the public album. I think we single-handedly increased the stock price of fairy lights by about fifty percent.”

“You’re the one who oversaw decorating, so you can’t hold me responsible for that.”

“I would never. Here, take a selfie with me.”

“Ugh, why.”

“Because obviously, I have to post this article to twitter and I want to have a selfie to put with it. Hashtag relationship goals.”

“Never use a hashtag in casual conversation,” Alec said, but he let Magnus take the selfie without further complaint. He watched as Magnus tapped at his phone for several moments, until Magnus realized Alec was just staring at him and gave him a questioning look. “Sorry. I was just thinking about how happy I am. How lucky I am. How glad I am that Valentine Morgenstern was an enormous douche who stole your money.”

Magnus laughed. “Agreed on all counts, my love.” He leaned in for a kiss. “To Valentine Morgenstern. Oh, but you can’t have a proper toast without a drink. Shall I get us some drinks? And then we can celebrate in bed.”

Alec let him get off the sofa, feeling that amazing warmth spread out through him, so different from the raging fire seeing an alpha had once set in his skin, so much better. “That sounds perfect.”

 

~fin~

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Setting Fire to a Stone: Alternate Version](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8278001) by [KouriArashi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KouriArashi/pseuds/KouriArashi)




End file.
